LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- The injury bug has halted Cameron Maybin's career once more, this time in very tough-luck fashion. What was initially hoped to be a bruised left wrist turned out to be a non-displaced fracture that will sideline Maybin for at least the next 4-6 weeks, the Tigers announced shortly after Thursday's 8-2 win over the Braves.
A CT scan conducted Thursday morning in Lakeland, Fla., revealed the fracture. Maybin was walking around the Tigers' clubhouse with a bat in his hand and no wrap on his wrist. The diagnosis caught the Tigers by surprise.
The fracture was the result of a 95-mph fastball from Yankees starter Luis Severino on Wednesday in Tampa, Fla., knocking Maybin out of the split-squad game. The pitch hit Maybin on the top of his wrist, according to first-base coach Omar Vizquel. Maybin was the designated hitter in the game because of a sore shoulder he sustained when he fell off his porch at his home in North Carolina just before leaving for Florida a couple weeks ago.
Maybin's wrist will be immobilized for two weeks, after which he'll undergo X-rays to determine how much the wrist has healed.
"The doctor said 4-6 weeks," manager Brad Ausmus said. "Generally, that means 4-6 weeks for it to heal before you really start taking part in baseball activities. But I can't speak for the doctor."
Those results could have a major impact on how the Tigers fill the void.
Maybin was in competition with Anthony Gose for playing time in center. Gose is expected to assume a regular role, but the Tigers will need depth.
While Detroit has a wealth of outfielders after trading with Atlanta for Maybin and signing Justin Upton, Nate Schierholtz and John Mayberry Jr. over the offseason, the team is not deep in center fielders. Tyler Collins, who ended last season as the regular left fielder, has made 24 starts in center as a pro. But like Gose, Collins bats left-handed.
"Tyler Collins could spell in center at times," Ausmus said.
Wynton Bernard, who has starred on his way up the Tigers farm system since signing out of tryout camp two years ago, is projected to start the season playing center at Triple-A Toledo, but Ausmus said earlier this week he could use more experience before being considered for a big league callup.
"I don't know that we have a ton of center fielders that you'd consider Major League-ready," Ausmus said.
Ausmus did not rule out looking outside camp for an option.
"I think you look," Ausmus said. "If there's an injury issue, you'd always look everywhere."
If Maybin isn't ready for the start of the season, he would face his fifth stint on the disabled list since 2011. The success of his resurgent 2015 campaign in Atlanta was due in large part to his ability to avoid the DL for the first time since 2012. He batted .267 (135-for-505) with 10 homers, 59 RBIs and a .697 OPS with the Braves last year.