New York – You would never suspect that Tigers’ reliever Kyle Finnegan was working his way back from an adductor strain by watching him going through his rehab work before games.
He’s running full out. He’s only throwing off flat ground but he’s not babying any throws.
He looks, frankly, like a good argument for a more flexible minimum stay on the injured list pitchers.
“As far as the timeline, I don’t really know the end date,” Finnegan said before the game Thursday. “I’m just completing my daily rehab and the throwing has been going good. Just doing all the required steps and everything has been really good.”
Finnegan’s stint on the injured list was backdated to Sept. 1. The first day he is eligible to come off is Sept. 16, which would coincide with the start of a three-game series against the Guardians at Comerica Park.
But Finnegan, who has pitched 14.1 scoreless innings with four saves since being acquired at the trade deadline, isn’t trying to look too far ahead.
“It feels strong and I’m confident on it,” he said. “But we’re just checking all the boxes in a progression. Just trusting the staff. They do great work. They’re really good at what they do. So I’m just putting my trust in them.”
This is only the second IL stint of Finnegan’s career. The first one was for a hamstring strain, a soft tissue issue, similar to the adductor strain.
“Knowing my body and knowing with a soft tissue thing, it’s just, you get it healed, get it stronger and there should be no issues, no limitations,” he said. “The first week, it was just healing and strengthening. Now I’m feeling really good.”
Next step will be throwing a bullpen. Finnegan hopes to do that this weekend in Miami. Whether he will need to make a rehab outing remains to be seen.
“It’s an important time of the year to not push it too fast and risk missing any more time,” he said. “So, we’re going to be smart about it and come back when it’s ready.”
Sewald’s saga
Veteran reliever Paul Sewald (shoulder), acquired at the trade deadline from Cleveland, will make one more rehab appearance at Toledo this weekend, manager AJ Hinch said Thursday.
He pitched a clean, scoreless inning for the Mud Hens on Wednesday, throwing 15 pitches and 10 strikes. It was his third rehab outing.
“He’s been through this before,” Hinch said. “He got hurt in Cleveland and he had four (rehab) outings before he came back to the big leagues and then he pitched in four of seven days right away.”
And he went right back on the injured list.
“We’re trying to monitor how he feels and where he’s at physically and how he’s bouncing back,” Hinch said. “We have a small amount of games left and we want him to be at his best when he comes back.”
The outing at Toledo this weekend could be his final test.
“He’s thrilled with how he’s bouncing back and we’re very happy with his execution,” Hinch said. “His stuff has started to tick up in his last two outings, which is good. But the best part is how he’s bouncing back. Because once you come back, it’s not scheduled outings anymore.”
Around the horn
Lefty reliever Bailey Horn was back with the team Thursday, activated from paternity leave. His wife gave birth to a girl, Ellie. Lefty Drew Sommers was optioned back to Toledo.
… Zach McKinstry (back tightness) wasn’t in the starting lineup Thursday but he was fully available off the bench. “I am taking it easy on him a little bit,” Hinch said. “Trying to give him as much time as we can. Given the way the game went last night (11-1 win), we were fortunate to be able to keep him out.”
… Lefty Tarik Skubal will be matched up against Marlins’ ace and fellow Cy Young winner Sandy Alcantara on Friday night. Skubal is a fan. “He won the Cy Young in what, 2022? He threw like 230 innings (228.2). I don’t even know how that’s possible. I’m at 180 and I feel like I’ve done a good job. It just speaks to the horse he is and the stuff that comes out of his hand is pretty good.”
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