Philadelphia — On a day when lefty Tyler Alexander had to come out of the bullpen to make a spot start, the Tigers got some encouraging medical updates on their fleet of injured pitchers.
“Getting good news, especially with as many guys we have hurt, feels good,” manager AJ Hinch said. “Optimism is always key. But it’s still going to take some time.”
That’s across the board. Even though starters Eduardo Rodriguez (ruptured pulley in his left index finger) and Alex Faedo (sliced nail on his right middle finger) got some clarity after seeing a specialist in Philadelphia Tuesday morning, there is still no timetable for their return.
Rodriguez was cleared to start playing catch, throwing lightly.
“I played catch today and it felt really good,” he said. “We will see tomorrow how it comes out and the next day. I was good to play catch today but as for a timetable, I don’t know.”
Faedo had a medical procedure to remove part of his nail.
“They took out almost half the nail,” Faedo said. “That was with the blistering and the way my nail was split, it was cutting my finger. That’s why I was having the problems. Everything should be good now.”
Faedo said it takes 100 days for the nail to grow all the way back. Fortunately, the nail doesn’t have to grow all the way back for him to pitch.
“The doctor said I don’t need a nail to throw,” he said. “The body can get used to it.”
Faedo will continue to get treatments on the finger and will proceed to a throwing program as the symptoms allow.
“If I would have kept pitching, it would have continued to blister and bleed,” he said. “It was like, either knock it out now or continue to pitch like last year where you pitch and you’re not yourself throwing. Just get it done now and be good for the rest of the year.”
Here are some other medical updates on Tigers pitchers:
▶ Lefty Tarik Skubal, who is recovering from flexor tendon surgery, is expected to make his second rehab start at West Michigan on Friday.
▶ Right-hander Spencer Turnbull (neck) received a third MRI on Monday and he’s been cleared to advance with upper body strength and conditioning exercises. The previous scans didn’t show enough healing in the neck to allow him to do any strength training in his upper body. Important step for Turnbull.
▶ Right-hander Beau Brieske (right ulnar nerve entrapment) was scheduled to begin a rehab assignment at High-A West Michigan on Wednesday. He is scheduled to start the game and pitch one inning.
▶ Right-handed reliever Trey Wingenter (right biceps tendinitis) is scheduled to complete a live BP tomorrow in Lakeland.
Manning impresses
The other injured Tigers starting pitcher Matt Manning put on a show before the game Tuesday.
“He looked really good,” Hinch said, with a smile.
Manning, who has been on the injured list with a broken bone in his foot, threw a two-inning simulated game and his four-seam fastball hit 98 mph.
“It’s a lot easier when there’s no stakes involved,” Manning said. “My mindset is just throw everything as hard as I can and go compete.”
Manning has used his time off to fine-tune his mechanics and streamline his delivery with pitching coaches Chris Fetter, Juan Nieves and Robin Lund.
“He’s done a ton of work on his throwing and I think he’s unlocked some keys,” Hinch said. “They did a whole deep dive into how to get a better fastball and how to make his other pitches better.”
He threw a couple of fastballs past Nick Maton, which isn’t easy to do. He also struck out Tyler Nevin with a nasty slider.
Afterward, Manning, Rodriguez and Matthew Boyd took pitching fielding practice drills, covering first base.
“Those drills were just as important as the throwing,” Hinch said. “Being able to interact with the bag, the sprinting, the unplanned part of PFP — as simple as it sounds, that can be a big hurdle.”
Manning said he feels like it’s all systems go.
“After six weeks when I got cleared, it was good enough to where I wasn’t going to hurt it anymore, but it was still nagging a little bit,” Manning said. “But as time has gone on, it’s gotten better and better.”
The next step, barring any setbacks, will be a rehab assignment. Hinch said they haven’t decided yet when or where that will happen.
Around the horn
Riley Greene, who is out with a stress reaction in his left fibula, is still completing his treatment and rehab program. But was able to play catch on Tuesday, stationary catch.
“I think it will help just getting him back into baseball mode,” Hinch said. “We’ve missed him on this trip, his personality and his liveliness in the dugout. Just getting him to do something other than grind our games is fun.”
… Kerry Carpenter (shoulder), who has been strictly used as a designated hitter so far in his rehab assignment at Toledo, was scheduled to start throwing to bases on Tuesday.
… Right-hander Freddy Pacheco, whom the Tigers claimed from the Cardinals even though he had an elbow injury, underwent ulnar collateral ligament repair on Monday.
chris.mccosky@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @cmccosky
Tigers at Phillies
▶ First pitch: 6:05 p.m. Wednesday, Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia
▶ TV/radio: BSD/97.1
SCOUTING REPORT
▶ RHP Reese Olson (0-1, 3.60), Tigers: Olson said he felt the nerves and adrenaline before his big-league debut last Friday but it didn’t show. He was in command, allowing two runs with six strikeouts in five innings. He was locating his 95-96 mph four-seam and two-seam and then dropping nasty sliders and changeups off of it. He got six misses on nine swings at the changeup, six misses on 18 swings with six called strikes on the slider.
▶ RHP Zack Wheeler (4-4, 4.33), Phillies: He’s coming off his worst start of the year where he was tagged for seven runs in 3⅔ innings by the Nationals. He’s still bringing 95-96 mph heat with his four-seam and two-seam fastballs, but the two-seamer has failed him a bit (.308). Lefties are doing most of the damage against him (.284/.336/.441).