JUPITER, Fla. -- It's unlikely that injured center fielder Cameron Maybin will be suiting up for the Tigers on Opening Day, manager Brad Ausmus said on Saturday after the organization received results of a second set of X-rays on Maybin's left wrist.
"It showed signs of healing, but he's still not ready to do baseball activity," Ausmus said prior to the Tigers' Grapefruit League game against the Marlins at Roger Dean Stadium. "Medically, it wasn't surprising, but I guess I was being optimistic."
Maybin sustained a hairline fracture on his left wrist when he was hit by a pitch from the Yankees' Luis Severino in his first at-bat this spring on March 2. The initial expectation was that Maybin would miss 4-6 weeks, but Opening Day now appears not to be a possibility.
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"It would be really tough for him to be ready," Ausmus said of Maybin, who had X-rays taken of his wrist Friday in Lakeland, Fla. "It's going to be at least another week before they look at him again. Once he gets the all-clear to start doing baseball work, he's got to build up. He's got to start swinging and build up to playing in games. I don't see how he's going to be ready at this point."
Ausmus said that Maybin likely would need a Minor League rehab stint after being cleared to resume playing.
"Probably leave him in the warm weather," Ausmus said.
Entering Spring Training, Maybin was expected to battle Anthony Gose for the Tigers' starting center-field job, but that competition never materialized after Maybin was injured. Gose, who started in center and batted leadoff on Saturday, now has the job for himself, and it's uncertain who will back him up until Maybin returns. Ausmus said that the team has options, including Wynton Bernard and Tyler Collins.
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"We're not locked into anything," Ausmus said of a short-term replacement. "We've got options that we will continue to look at. Those two [Bernard and Collins], plus we're going to play Andrew Romine in center field to see how he is out there. We only have to cover a little bit of time at the beginning of the season, so I don't think it's anything too drastic."
Before Saturday's game against the Marlins got cancelled by rain, Ausmus said that Romine, who started at first base, would move to center field for the second half of it and might play in some Minor League games next week.
"He's got the speed to cover center field," Ausmus said. "Actually, he said he played outfield when he first started playing baseball because his dad was an outfielder. We want to see how comfortable he is out there, how well he can man that position."