CHICAGO -- The Tigers’ beleaguered pitching staff had an important bullpen arm return, but their injured list didn’t grow any shorter.
The team activated right-hander Beau Brieske from the 60-day IL on Friday, and placed right-hander Casey Mize on the 15-day IL with right adductor inflammation. To make room on the 40-man roster for Brieske, left-hander Brant Hurter was transferred to the 60-day IL with lumbar spine inflammation.
Mize originally sustained the injury April 28 in Atlanta, but avoided an IL stint, then aggravated the injury in his last outing Wednesday. The Tigers are in the middle of a stretch of nine straight games with a pair of off-days on the upcoming homestand, so they decided putting Mize on the IL would allow him to fully recover and maximize their depleted pitching corps.
“With Casey, we actually feel really good with where he's at, and it's less significant than it was when he had the episode in Atlanta,” manager A.J. Hinch said before Friday’s series opener against the White Sox. “But it's going to require a little bit of a slower week for him. We're in the stretch of games where we can't wait.”
The Tigers currently have 10 pitchers on the injured list, and the return of Brieske highlights just how dire their need for pitching is. He posted a 4.70 ERA in seven rehab appearances following a left adductor strain injury he sustained in Spring Training.
“His stuff has actually been pretty good,” Hinch said. “He’s had a mishap here and there every game and we’re trying to get to the bottom of that, and we were going to give him another rep or two on his rehab assignment, [but] we don’t have that luxury right now.
“I told him [to] be ready to go. There were a couple of spots over the last week or so where we could use the Beau Brieske that we had planned to be on this team.”
Left-hander Tarik Skubal threw a bullpen session Friday afternoon at Rate Field and is still on track to throw a four-inning simulated game Monday at Tampa Bay.
“Another good bullpen,” Skubal said. “Physically, I feel good. Again, execution will continue to clean up, I think. But what matters more is just physically, and I feel great, so that's what matters.”
Skubal is just more than three weeks removed from surgery that removed a loose body in his elbow, but continues to fast-track a return to the Tigers’ pitching staff. But neither Skubal nor the Tigers have an entrenched date for a return to the big leagues.
“I need to get through that day and then we can have discussions about what's next ahead, you know? I don't really want to get ahead of myself and say, ‘Hey, I'm going to be back on this date,’ you know?” Skubal said. “You can get hit by a comebacker, and then all of a sudden, my day's done, and I've only thrown two innings. So, it's like, what's the point of me getting out and trying to [get ahead]?
“Let me get through Monday, and then we can have discussions of what lies ahead, and I'm sure A.J. will lead the charge with that.”