TAMPA, Fla. -- Tigers outfielder Cameron Maybin, already dealing with a sore right shoulder, added a bruised left wrist to his injury concerns when he was hit by a Luis Severino fastball in the first inning of Wednesday's split-squad game against the Yankees.
The injury doesn't appear to be as serious as earlier feared, but it could put him further behind as he tries to make his case for regular play in center field.
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Maybin has been limited to the designated-hitter role after he injured his shoulder falling off his icy porch at home in North Carolina a couple of weeks ago. The fleet-footed center fielder stepped to the plate for his first spring at-bat when Severino went inside with a fastball. The second-inning pitch stuck Maybin on top of his wrist, sending him to the ground in pain.
Maybin got up and jogged to first base after head athletic trainer Kevin Rand checked his hand, but he went back to the clubhouse at inning's end. Miguel Gonzalez hit for Maybin when his spot came back up in the third.
"He was able to move [his wrist] up and down, sideways, everything," said coach Omar Vizquel, who was acting manager for the split-squad game. "For prevention, we just took him out of the game. Kevin told me he had full range of motion. It wasn't really a big concern. Obviously he's going to be sore, because it was like a 95-mph fastball, but I took him out for prevention."
Maybin, a former Tigers first-round pick who returned this offseason in a trade from the Braves, is expected to compete with Anthony Gose in camp for playing time in center. So far, injuries have prevented Maybin from playing the outfield. He can field, but he has progressed slowly throwing to bases and stretching out his shoulder.
"I felt great all offseason and that happens, two days before I left," Maybin said of his shoulder a day earlier. "I was like, 'Really?'"