Hanrahan still progressing slowly

SEATTLE -- Joel Hanrahan continues to throw bullpen sessions and long toss in Florida as he strengthens his arm as part of his rehab program from Tommy John surgery, team president/general manager Dave Dombrowski said earlier this week.

Friday marked the four-week point since Hanrahan signed a one-year contract with Detroit.

"He's just coming back," Dombrowski said during his stop at Triple-A Toledo. "He's continuing to throw bullpens and make strides along those roads."

Hanrahan has been in a strength-building pattern for the past couple weeks after experiencing some arm weakness during mound sessions earlier in the month. Dombrowski indicated they'll continue to play it cautious with Hanrahan's throwing program once he begins throwing to hitters, whenever that happens. When he does begin throwing in games, he'll likely begin in Lakeland, either with the Gulf Coast League rookie team or the Class A Florida State League squad.

"Our thought process is that's where he'll probably start down there," Dombrowski said, "Because we'll get him into a couple games once he's at that point. But we're not rushing him. We're making sure everything is [fine]. We're taking our time with him. He's feeling good, making progress, but he's not a day away from going into a game or anything. He's still got a little bit of time."