SEATTLE -- Cameron Maybin's left thumb remains a problem, so the Tigers' center fielder will get an MRI exam on it Tuesday.
Maybin injured the thumb while diving for a ball in the outfield last Wednesday night at home against the White Sox. He said his glove got stuck and he hyperextended the thumb. Preliminary tests showed no structural damage, but the swelling has not gone down as much as Maybin or the team expected. He has missed the last four games and was not in the lineup Monday night for the series opener against the Mariners at Safeco Field. Tyler Collins was penciled in once again in center field.
"I can still hit, but [batting practice] isn't like the game, and I was in some pain [during BP]," Maybin said. "It'll be smart to get a picture. I wanted to play through it, but I don't know if I can, as bad as I want to.
"It's annoying. We're having a good year, playing good and sometimes it happens when you're playing hard. Sometimes you have things pop up. That's the only thing I am OK with. It all still happened on the field. But you've just got to kind of keep going, man, and be there for my guys."
Tigers manager Brad Ausmus has this issue to add to the fact that third baseman Nick Castellanos is out indefinitely because of a broken bone in his left hand and starter Jordan Zimmermann is on the DL because of a neck injury.
"There's not much we can do about it," Ausmus said of Maybin's injury. "Just take another picture and see if there was something that was missed in the first round of tests."
Ausmus was asked whether the growing number of injuries is disheartening, but he said there's only one way to deal with this type of adversity -- just wait it out.
"I really don't concern myself with it," Ausmus said. "They're not there. They can't play. I don't concern myself with it. I hope they get better quickly."