The Tigers have placed right-hander Jordan Zimmerman on the 10-day injured list with a ulnar collateral ligament sprain in his right elbow, per an announcement on Friday. In a corresponding move, right-handed reliever Zac Reininger was recalled from Triple-A Toledo and will be made available to pitch during Friday’s series opener against the White Sox. MLB.com’s Jason Beck reports that Zimmerman is expected to rest for 5-7 days before entering a rehab program and will likely miss a total of three or four weeks.
Zimmerman, 32, was pulled after tossing just three innings against the Red Sox on Thursday. He allowed five runs on five hits and three walks and struck out two of 16 batters before he was forced to leave with soreness in his elbow. According to comments from manager Ron Gardenhire, the elbow discomfort was a new sensation for Zimmerman, who had not reported any similar feeling prior to the assignment and did not appear to be in visible pain while pitching.
This is the first time Zimmerman has dealt with elbow issues in nearly a decade. He underwent Tommy John surgery back in the summer of 2009, but has not suffered similar injuries in the nine major-league seasons that followed. So far in 2019, he carried an 0-4 record with a 5.93 ERA, 3.3 BB/9, 6.2 SO/9, and 0.2 fWAR through 30 1/3 innings. A rotation replacement has yet to be announced.
Reininger, 26, logged just one appearance in the big leagues this spring. He’s collected several cups of coffee in each of his past two seasons with the Tigers, but has yet to replicate his pristine Triple-A numbers on the major-league level. He currently holds a 0.90 ERA in Triple-A after opening the season with 10 innings of one-run, five-walk, nine-strikeout ball.
