After Tuesday’s start, Detroit Tigers right-hander Alex Faedo reported tenderness in his fingernail to the medical staff and began receiving treatments.
On Saturday, four days later, the Tigers sent him to the 15-day injured list — retroactive to Wednesday — with right middle finger discomfort. The severity of his injury and the timetable for his return are unclear.
“A nail issue on the outside of his middle finger, almost like an ingrown nail,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said Friday, before Faedo landed on the injured list. “As he’s getting treatment, we want to be transparent that he’s going through it.”
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Faedo, 27, allowed six runs on seven hits and one walk with four strikeouts across 4⅓ innings against the Texas Rangers. He has a 5.54 ERA in five starts since being recalled from Triple-A Toledo on May 7 to replace struggling right-hander Spencer Turnbull in the rotation.
Two starting pitchers, Faedo and left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez, have been sidelined with finger injuries in the past week. Rodriguez, the ace of the staff, has a ruptured pulley in his left index finger.
Right-hander Reese Olson, a 23-year-old prospect, took Rodriguez’s spot in the rotation. In his MLB debut, he took a no-hitter into the sixth inning in Friday’s 3-0 loss to the Chicago White Sox.
With Faedo’s injury, the Tigers will need a starting pitcher for Tuesday’s game against the Philadelphia Phillies.
But the Tigers lack reliable starting depth at the Triple-A level and could need to look outside the organization for a starter to cover Tuesday’s game. A pair of relievers — left-hander Tyler Alexander and right-hander Mason Englert — could be candidates to start, as well.
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The Tigers have seven starting pitchers, and three members of their Opening Day rotation, on the injured list: Rodriguez, Faedo, Turnbull (neck discomfort), Beau Brieske (right ulnar nerve entrapment), Matt Manning (right foot fracture), Casey Mize (right elbow sprain, lumbar strain) and Tarik Skubal (left elbow strain).
Manning and Skubal could return in July.
Faedo owns a 5.54 ERA across 17 starts in his MLB career.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold.