Zumaya's health a factor for Tigers

Zumaya's rehab affects Tigers' moves

Club looking for relief help with righty's status for '09 uncertain

http://detroit.tigers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20081119&content_id...85231&v

By Jason Beck / MLB.com

DETROIT -- Joel Zumaya gave the Tigers a triple-digit fastball route to
respectability when he went from the Minor Leagues to the back end of Detroit's
bullpen at age 21. Now, as Zumaya makes steady progress back from injury, the Tigers
are hoping for the best and preparing for worse.

Their hopes could even include another shutdown reliever from the farm.

Two seasons have passed since Zumaya became a setup force for the Tigers, helping
fuel their run to the World Series. The past two years have been a flustering series
of injuries for him, from the tendon he ruptured in his right middle finger warming
up in Kansas City to the surgery he needed to reconstruct the shoulder joint damaged
in an offseason accident.

Zumaya made it back this summer and pitched for about two months before soreness in
the surgically repaired shoulder forced him back to the disabled list. What was hoped
to be the tearing of scar tissue turned out to be a stress fracture, sidelining him
for the final six weeks of the season.

Whether it sidelines Zumaya for the start of next season is a question the Tigers
can't yet answer with any certainty. With that, the Tigers have to plan as if he
might not be available.

Zumaya pitched in 62 games as a rookie in 2006. He has made 49 appearances in the two
years since then.

"It's been huge for us to not have him," manager Jim Leyland said. "It's been a
disaster for us to not have him, to be honest with you. The players had so much
confidence in him, and fans feed off of him. You're talking about a real impact guy.
It obviously hasn't been easy, but you go on and do the best you can."

The news started to become encouraging for Zumaya again this month, when he was
cleared to begin exercises to rehab the shoulder. Head athletic trainer Kevin Rand
said Monday that Zumaya is pain-free and has full range of motion in the shoulder.

That puts Zumaya on a path towards throwing again soon. However, Rand said, they want
to make sure that he works out his shoulder back to full strength before he tries it.

It isn't much yet, but it's a good sign for the Tigers at this point, enough that
they're hoping to have him pitching this coming spring.

Hot Stove

"That's what we're hoping for," team vice president and assistant general manager Al
Avila said. "It's basically a week-to-week, month-to-month situation. So far, the
progress has been good. You couldn't make a conclusion today, but we're pleased with
the progress."

Nonetheless, the injury history provides plenty of reason for caution. It also
provides plenty of reason for the Tigers to prepare in case he isn't ready.

While the Tigers face positional needs at shortstop and catcher, their bullpen is
going to be the trickiest to maneuver. Beyond the obvious need for a closer and a
recent search for left-handed relief help, the Tigers have the seventh and eighth
innings to fill, too. Zumaya's sugery last year and Fernando Rodney's lingering pain
left the Tigers short-handed there to open in 2008, and they never recovered.

Adding a closer pushes Rodney back from his late-season closing role to setup. That
would fill part of the role, but likely not all.

That compounds the task for the Tigers, whose interest has ranged from closers such
as Trevor Hoffman and Brandon Lyon to several left-handers -- some specialists,
others middle relievers. They have an internal option with Zach Miner, though he
looms larger as a starter while the Tigers wait for Kenny Rogers to decide whether
he'll pitch in 2009 and Freddy Garcia to make some starts in winter ball.

"If we're able to help ourselves by getting a quality reliever, it's obvious you help
the depth of your bullpen," Avila said. "It doesn't really matter where you slot
Rodney and Zumaya at the end of the day."

Then there's the dream scenario, for history to repeat itself and the Tigers to find
another shutdown reliever from the farm system. The problem is that it doesn't happen
often, and the Tigers don't have clear-cut candidates, at least at the start of the
season. Casey Fien's performance in the Arizona Fall League -- including a 1.84 ERA,
no walks and 15 strikeouts over 14 2/3 innings -- certainly gives him momentum
heading toward Spring Training.

The wild card could be one of the hard-throwing pitchers the Tigers selected in the
early rounds of June's First-Year Player Draft. It's not likely enough for the Tigers
to curtail their offseason shopping, at least at this stage. But it's enough of a
presence that nobody is ruling out the likes of first-round pick Ryan Perry, Cody
Satterwhite or Scott Green at least making the club.

"I'll take talent," Leyland said. "You just have to make sure that they can handle it
mentally and emotionally. It's a pretty big grind in the Major Leagues day after
day."

Leyland saw the confidence in Zumaya and Justin Verlander in 2006 once he had enough
time to observe them in camp. He saw the stuff of Perry and Satterwhite in
instructional ball, but he'll need Spring Training to see if they have the makeup.

"Verander's a tough guy," Leyland said. "Zumaya's a real macho guy. That's why I was
ready to take them in 2006. I knew they weren't going to get nervous facing big
league hitters. Their confidence was too good. I don't know that yet [about these
guys]. We'll see how they throw, how they react, how they react when they get knocked
around, because they will get knocked around. It's going to be very interesting."


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