DETROIT -- Michael Fulmer walked into the Tigers' clubhouse Saturday afternoon with a full beard and glasses.
“I’m back,” he shouted into a mostly empty room.
While the midsummer routine has clearly settled in around the Tigers, their former American League Rookie of the Year Award winner was missing it. While he would have loved to say he was in town for a milestone checkpoint in his rehab from Tommy John surgery, he admitted his reasons for traveling in from Oklahoma were more mundane.
“Basically I missed it,” he said. “I wanted to get back up here and see all these guys, just try to have fun for a couple days.”
He’ll be in Erie next weekend to be part of the Double-A team’s 25th anniversary celebration. That doesn’t mean he’s necessarily bored with nothing to do.
His daily routine, he said, depends on how early in the morning his three-month-old son, Miles, wakes up. His rehab work includes shoulder and forearm strengthening, resistance work, and a lot of cardio.
“I’m trying to get on the bike a lot,” he said. “My wife’s got a Peloton. She tries to compete with me. Sometimes she beats me, I’m not going to lie. But everything’s going well. I feel strong. I feel stronger than before.”
His routine does not include plumbing work, his old offseason job when he used to be back home.
“I told my boss," he said. "He wasn’t happy. I actually had to call him to come change my hot water tank the other day, which is bad. I could’ve saved a lot of money. He charged me full price, too.”
Fulmer's initial timetable of 14 to 16 months of recovery remains on track since his surgery in March, meaning he could be back sometime in the first half of next season. But he isn’t going to push it, preferring to make sure he’s healthy after two years of various injuries.
“Right now we’re not really looking forward that far,” Fulmer said. “Just trying to get strength built and maybe play catch in October or November-ish.”
For now, he’s trying to look on the bright side.
“Once my son was born, it was really something special to be able to be there,” he said. “Because he came two weeks early at 11:30 at night, and the team would’ve been in Detroit. So I would’ve missed his birth completely, and then I would’ve had to not to see him for about three months after that, and my wife and him would’ve come up to Detroit right about this time. So if there’s a silver lining in anything, it was truly a blessing to be able to be there for that.”
Turnbull to injured list, Soto recalled
For the second time this month, starter Spencer Turnbull is headed to the injured list, this time with an upper back strain sustained while working out after his last start earlier this week in Cleveland.
“I guess he was working out somehow or another and strained his back doing his conditioning stuff,” manager Ron Gardenhire said. “He went out and played some catch and didn’t feel great, but then today he came in and said there’s no chance.
“It’s one of those things that’s a learning experience, as we call it. He’s trying to stay in shape and get himself in good condition and just tweaked it. That happens, unfortunately.”
Like his last IL stint with shoulder fatigue, this injury doesn’t appear to be serious. The Tigers pondered whether to simply push him back in the rotation order before making the move. But with innings limits a concern for Turnbull down the stretch, Detroit decided to exercise some patience now and save some innings for later.
To take his place, the Tigers recalled left-hander Gregory Soto, who started Tuesday for Triple-A Toledo but will work out of the Tigers' bullpen for now.
Quick hits
• The Tigers promoted reliever Sandy Baez from Class A Advanced Lakeland to Double-A Erie as part of his rehab progression. The right-hander had been out since early June with what was described as a minor illness. He made two relief appearances for Lakeland. Baez began the year at Triple-A Toledo, allowing 18 earned runs on 27 hits over 22 innings in 18 appearances out of the Mud Hens' bullpen.
• Former Tigers pitcher Don Mossi passed away Friday at age 90, according to reports. He was a 17-game winner for the Tigers in 1959, the first of his five seasons in Detroit. Mossi also pitched for the Indians, White Sox and Kansas City A’s.