Mike Maroth will miss his scheduled start on Thursday. The elbow tenderness he experienced during spring training has apparently flared up again.
The Tigers aren’t overly concerned, but I am. Maroth’s start on Friday was his first long outing of the year because he was limited in spring training. My guess is that it didn’t feel right the next day, and the pain hasn’t subsided. If there is any good news in this, it is that Maroth appears to be taking the cautious route instead of trying to pitch through it.
In the short term, everybody gets moved up a day and ultimately Maroth and Robertson will be trading spots in the rotation. Everybody will still be on 4 days rest due to yesterday’s off day.
The long term implications aren’t as rosy. Joel Zumaya and Jason Grilli both could be moved into the rotation if necessary. The downside is that it would weaken a bullpen that isn’t bulging with depth. Roman Colon currently isn’t an option because he’s having arm issues of his own.
One pitcher who could make things interesting is Wil Ledezma who has had two very strong outings for Toledo. In his two starts he has 10 2/3 innings pitched and he’s only allowed 1 run. The control problems which plagued him last year haven’t been a problem yet with 3 walks against 13 strikeouts.
Any word on who’s getting the start? I’m assuming Verlander will just be moved up a day.
I guess I could’ve checked out your links.
I guess I’d go Grilli short term, and that’s obviously not a long term solution. They need to give Zumaya a role and run with it. Long term I’m hoping for a spot in the rotation, but I’d hate to see him get in now, and brought back to the pen in 2-3 weeks with Maroth back. Ledezma wouldn’t be all that bad an idea either.