DETROIT -- The good news for left-hander Daniel Norris is that a second MRI on his injured left groin showed nothing worse than the initial results did. The bad news is that he'll basically have to start the rehab process over again after receiving a cortisone shot.
Norris will have to rest from any baseball activity for a few days following the shot, then he'll begin rehabbing. No timetable has been set for his return, but while he should be able to pitch again this season, the Tigers aren't expected to rush him back and risk a worse injury.
Norris went on the 10-day disabled list just before the All-Star break. He went on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Toledo last week but left his last start in the first inning when he couldn't loosen up the injury.
Norris had tried to pitch through the injury for a few weeks before the DL stint, and said the injury was part of the reason behind his struggles. In most starts, it would surface in a long inning when he would struggle with command. Some games, he'd get through it and salvage a decent outing. But more frequently as he neared the All-Star break, he couldn't stop the damage and ended up chased in the big inning. In the process, he picked up a sore right quadriceps injury to complement his groin issues.
Norris had a 4.42 ERA after beating the Rays with a quality start June 16, which is when he said he first felt the injury. He made three starts for the Tigers after that, allowing 15 runs on 20 hits over 13 2/3 innings, with eight walks and 10 strikeouts.
For now, the Tigers are covered, with Matthew Boyd delivering two quality starts in as many turns in Norris' place since the break. If Detroit were to trade Justin Verlander or another starter ahead of Monday's non-waiver Trade Deadline, Drew VerHagen -- called up from Triple-A Toledo as an extra reliever Monday -- is the logical candidate to fill in.
Quick hits
• Jose Cabrera, who entered Wednesday batting 7-for-36 with no extra-base hits since July 16, took early batting practice from manager Brad Ausmus before the series finale vs. the Royals. Neither Ausmus nor Cabrera said he was working on anything specific
• Jose King, the 18-year-old shortstop acquired in last week's J.D. Martinez trade with Arizona, entered Wednesday batting 3-for-9 with a double, triple and two RBIs in three games for the Tigers' Gulf Coast League West rookie-level team. He has three errors at short.