Detroit — Nothing worse than an angry forearm.
Just ask Tigers reliever Will Vest, who returned to active duty Sunday after missing 15 days with forearm inflammation.
“I wasn’t worried about it,” Vest said Sunday morning. “I think it just got pissed off and we needed to give it a little break and let it calm down a little bit.”
A cortisone shot earlier in the week helped put the forearm in a better mood.
“I wasn’t worried that it was anything serious,” he said. “Because I was able to throw hard and everything was coming out normal. I was just having pain.”
Vest’s return comes on a day when Kenley Jansen was most likely unavailable because he’d thrown three of the last four games.
“It’s very encouraging to get Will back,” manager AJ Hinch said. “He stabilizes a lot of different things. He’s been part of our planning on the front end and part of our execution during the games. Just having him back as an option makes our entire bullpen deeper and better.”
Vest’s return comes with the temporary departure of another pitcher. Right-hander Ty Madden was put on the 15-day IL with a forearm contusion. He was struck by a 108-mph line drive Friday night.
“He played catch today and he’s getting better,” Hinch said. “But with Wednesday in doubt (Madden’s next start/bulk day) and the path to getting there in doubt, he’s not fully ready. We’re not going to ask him to hold on. The swelling is still not out of there.”
Madden can and will continue to play catch, which should help keep his stay on the IL to the minimum, just as it did with Vest.
“That part is encouraging,” Hinch said. “But he can’t make his next start or even the bulk role. We gave ourselves as much time as we could. But with Will coming back, it became a decision point.”
Madden’s absence will create another decision mid-week. The Tigers could deploy a full bullpen game against the Guardians or they could start Drew Anderson, who went four scoreless innings and threw 46 pitches on Friday.
“We’ll see,” Hinch said. “We’re going to try to win the series today and then get to Cleveland.”
Vest threw a quick, scoreless inning with Toledo in his one rehab outing. His velocity was up in the upper-90s and his slider and changeup were sharp.
“It was just how I was feeling,” he said when asked when he knew he was ready to return. “There was no pain in my last outing. I felt like I didn’t miss too much time. I don’t think I lost anything in that regard. If I feel like I have a good feel for my stuff and everything is normal and I’m pain-free, I am ready to go.”
On deck: Cleveland Guardians
Series: Four games at Comerica Park, Detroit
First pitch: Monday-Wednesday — 6:40 p.m.; Thursday — 1:10 p.m.
TV/radio: All four games, Detroit Sports Net/97.1, 107.9 FM
Probables: Monday — RHP Slade Cecconi (2-4, 5.60) vs. LHP Framber Valdez (2-2, 4.32); Tuesday — LHP Parker Messick (5-1, 2.35) vs. RHP Keider Montero (2-3, 3.65); Wednesday — RHP Tanner Bibee (0-6, 4.15) vs. TBD; Thursday — LHP Joey Cantillo (3-1, 3.40) vs. RHP Casey Mize (2-2, 2.90).
Scouting report
Cecconi, Guardians: His last two starts have been better, though short (5.1 innings, four innings). He’s allowed two runs with 10 strikeouts and four walks. His issue has been with right-handed batters who are hitting .330 with a .590 slug and .961 OPS. He’s not had consistent command with his two best weapons against righties (curveball and sweeper). His four-seam velocity has also been down a tick, from 94 to 93 mph.
Valdez, Tigers: He’s fun to watch when he’s right, like he was last time out against the Mets. He mixed all of his pitches, even sprinkled in three of the infamous four-seam fastballs. His sinker was electric, getting 16 called strikes. He struck out seven in 6.2 innings and got a ton of soft contact (18 balls in play, 84.9 mph average exit velocity).
Chris.McCosky@detroitnews.com
@cmccosky
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: ‘Angry’ forearm quieted, Will Vest returns to Tigers; Ty Madden to IL
Reporting by Chris McCosky, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
