HOUSTON -- With his left oblique bothering him anew, Tigers second baseman Gleyber Torres went back on the injured list Wednesday, retroactive to Tuesday. His second strain in the oblique came just two weeks after he’d been activated from the IL, having missed a month with the same injury.
“It’s a new injury in the same region of his previous injury,” manager A.J. Hinch said before Wednesday’s series finale against the Astros. “Obviously, it’s all related, but it’s frustrating for him and for us that that area continues to be an issue for him.”
Torres, who is slashing .280/.395/.395 this season, left Monday night’s series opener after swinging at a pitch during his second at-bat. In the 11 games since his June 2 return, his slash mark was an impressive .341/.413/.585.
“It’s a challenge to lose a bat the caliber of Gleyber’s,” said Hinch, who was uncertain as to what specifically triggered the new injury. “There’s no doubt it’s a tiring broken record, but we can’t dwell on it.”
Torres’ absence will likely mean more playing time for Hao-Yu Lee. Hinch said Zach McKinstry will also get opportunities at second and that Colt Keith could see more time in the infield.
Taking Torres’ roster spot was right-hander Casey Mize, who had been on the IL with right adductor inflammation and was Wednesday’s starting pitcher against Houston.
Hinch said Torres’ latest oblique injury doesn’t appear as severe as the previous one and is holding out hope his second baseman’s absence will be somewhat short-term.
“We just have to continue to address the symptoms and build a return to play that makes sense,” Hinch said. “His first injury was tough because we were taking a step forward, then a mini-step back and then another step forward. And then he came off the IL and hit [one of] the first pitches he saw 433 feet to center [for a home run against the Rays] and had probably 20 at-bats of really explosive action.”