NEW YORK -- On Saturday, for the first time since April 29, left-hander Daniel Norris will take the mound for the Tigers.
Norris underwent groin surgery at the beginning of May after pitching through tightness in the area since last summer. He will be reinstated from the 60-day disabled list prior to Saturday's game at Yankee Stadium to make his sixth appearance of the year.
"I mean, I'm just happy to be here," Norris said on Friday. "Obviously appreciative of the opportunity. It was definitely an interesting year, rehabbing the whole time, pretty much. Started with kind of a frustrating April, then getting surgery and going through that, now getting the rehab. Yeah, it was difficult, but again, happy to be here."
Norris has spent the majority of August rehabbing in the Minor Leagues. In four appearances, including three starts, he posted a 2.31 ERA with 17 strikeouts over 11 2/3 innings. He is pleased with his secondary stuff, although he has noticed that his velocity is down a few ticks from what it was in the past. Despite the slight dip, he is confident it will return.
"Last year I was pretty much 94 [mph] the whole time and could reach back and get [96] or [97] whenever I needed it," he said. "But prior to surgery, I couldn't get a ball over 92. I think it was my third rehab start that I hit 93 a few times, so that, for me, was just getting over that and showing that it's still building back up and it will come over time, but it's no longer a concern for me. I know it will come back in time. It could be tomorrow, it could be next start, it could be whenever."
His velocity may be down, but Norris is pleased with the lack of movement from his fastball. He said that in April he inadvertently developed a "cut" to his heater that caused him to have difficulty commanding the pitch.
"In April I would try to throw a fastball away, and it would cut down the middle of the plate unintentionally because I couldn't get out there because of the groin," he said. "But now, after surgery, I feel like I'm able to get out there and the fastball's true."
Having only been with the Tigers this season, manager Ron Gardenhire has not had much of an opportunity to see what Norris can bring to the table. In his first five games of the year, including two starts, Norris went 0-2 with a 5.87 ERA over 15 1/3 innings. Despite those struggles, Gardenhire knows the level of talent that the team has in Norris.
"He's very athletic," Gardenhire said. "I mean, that's one thing that stands out is that he's an athletic kid, he can do some things. He felt good about what he was doing, then all of a sudden, he had the [injury], which was unfortunate. He's a good, young pitcher. Now it's just all about the health. His leg has healed from everything he's gone through with that. Now it's just, go out and compete."
Iglesias suffers abdominal strain
Shortstop Jose Iglesias was placed on the 10-day disabled list on Thursday with a lower abdominal strain before Gardenhire was able to get a look at the results of the MRI. Once the results came back, Gardenhire confirmed on Friday that there is no tear and that it is just a strain, meaning Iglesias will not need surgery. The expectation is that Iglesias will be down for 10 to 14 days before returning to game action.
"We were just worried that he might have some kind of abdominal tear, something like that, but it actually came out a lot better than we thought," Gardenhire said. "He feels good about it. He's still sore, but he'll be within 10 days, I'm sure. He'll be ready to go."
Tigers reinstate Hardy
Prior to Friday night's game in New York, Blaine Hardy was reinstated from the 10-day DL. The left-hander had been sidelined since Aug. 17 (retroactive to Aug. 15) with tendinitis in his left elbow.
Hardy is 4-5 with a 3.91 ERA in 23 games, including 13 starts, for Detroit this season. In two rehab appearances with Triple-A Toledo, he allowed one run on three hits with four strikeouts over two frames.
"He's ready to throw three innings if we wanted him to," Gardenhire said. "The elbow feels great."