In a season in which they've lost Spencer Turnbull and Jake Rogers to Tommy John, the Tigers are now holding their breath on Matthew Boyd.
Boyd, who has dealt with on-and-off arm soreness this summer, was scratched from his scheduled start Friday night in Detroit due to soreness in his left elbow and will be placed on the injured list, A.J. Hinch announced Friday afternoon. Further testing awaits.
Hinch said Boyd came to the Tigers on Thursday afternoon after playing catch at Comerica Park to report "some recurring elbow soreness." He said it's similar to what Boyd experienced prior to returning from a lengthy stint on the IL in late August.
"Obviously bad news for us, bad news for him," said Hinch.
Boyd had a strong start to the season before landing on the IL with arm soreness June 15. He allowed seven runs in two starts following his return, bringing his season ERA to 3.89. Asked about his level of concern given the nature of Boyd's injury -- i.e. the elbow -- Hinch said, "I’m always concerned when it’s a recurring issue."
Hinch said Boyd "felt perfectly fine" in his past several starts including rehab,
and "then yesterday playing catch did not feel as good. So that’s concerning, obviously the time of year where we’re at. He’s going to miss at least a couple starts.
"We’ll see if he can make it back by the end of the year, but we need to get him to further testing and get to the bottom of why this reappeared."