Detroit — There was a hopefulness in his voice that his eyes betrayed.
The day after Tigers reliever Tyler Alexander was confronted with the reality that his season was over, he was still halfway between disbelief and acceptance.
“My arm felt perfectly fine on every pitch I threw previously,” he said. “Then, one backdoor cutter and I felt a pull in the back of my shoulder. It was just very strange. Like, it made me think there was nothing I could’ve done about it.”
There probably wasn’t. He’s ultra-diligent in terms of his arm care and training routine. Like every Tigers reliever, he’d pitched a lot in June, but his 18.2 innings were well-spaced. His workload was managed as diligently by pitching coach Chris Fetter and manager AJ Hinch as he manages his own preparation.
And still, on the 679th pitch he threw this season, the 28th he threw Sunday against the Rockies, something tugged in his shoulder/lat area.,
“It just sucks,” he said. “When it happened, I didn’t think it would be a season-ending thing. But, we went back (into the trainers’ room at Coors Field) and did a bunch of tests and I pretty much failed all of them.”
There were imaging tests taken in Denver, but the fluid and inflammation in the area prevented any truly clear picture of the damaged area. Still, it was bad enough that Alexander was put immediately on the 60-day injured list.
“I’m kind of in limbo right now,” he said. “We’re trying to flush out the fluid and inflammation, and the plan is to get another MRI. Hopefully, we can get a clearer image of what everything looks like.”
The MRI should help determine whether the injury requires a surgical fix or just rest and rehabilitation. Either way, his season is over.
“We know it’s bad; we just don’t know how bad,” he said. “Doing the math on it, even if I don’t get surgery, it would put me back in March of next year. The difference is, will it be a regular offseason or will I be rehabbing all winter?”
Alexander, who will be 29 on July 14 and remains under team control through 2025, was having an outstanding season. He was voted Tigers pitcher of the month for June by writers and broadcasters. He allowed two earned runs (both on solo homers) with 18 strikeouts and three walks in 18.2 innings in the month. He limited hitters to a .167 batting average.
“It was the best my pitches felt in a long time,” he said. “But, everything is a blessing in disguise, I guess. This will give me a chance to work on my stuff, clean up some stuff in my mechanics. Maybe I will come back even better.”
Minutes later, he was at a table in the clubhouse with assistant pitching coach Robin Lund and an iPad, already at work on those mechanics.
Twitter: @cmccosky