​Will Vest returned to the Detroit clubhouse Friday after a week in Dallas seeking multiple medical opinions on his aching right elbow. The Tigers announced the final diagnosis before the game: Vest has a stress fracture in a bone at the back of his right elbow, but the injury does not require surgery. “Now we have an actual plan moving forward, and that’s the good part,” manager AJ Hinch said. “All that stuff sounds scary and we don’t really know what is going on. Then you get a battery of tests and we can react accordingly.”
Hinch noted there is no set timetable. Vest will undergo a period of rest, followed by physical therapy and general rehab activity before he can resume any throwing program. Still, doctors believe he should be able to pitch again before the season ends. “When a pitcher goes out with an arm injury, everybody jumps to the worst-case scenario,” Hinch observed, referring to ligament damage. “This one is bone-related. He is determined to tackle it, and for now we expect him back before the end of the season.”
Vest had been a pivotal piece of Detroit’s late-inning bullpen, helping the team close games. His absence has forced Hinch to rethink how he finishes contests, with Kyle Finnegan and Kenley Jansen remaining reliable in the late innings. Since Vest’s injury, Drew Anderson and Keider Montero have taken on more roles at the back end of games. “I’m judged by what I do, so I’ll keep doing it,” Hinch said. “It’s the same group, with the caveat of how we might deploy Keider. We’ve used him creatively for a three-inning save and in shorter stints. We’re considering a six-man rotation after the All-Star break, though that hasn’t been decided yet. It will be managed game by game, series by series.”
With the Phillies in town and a left-handed-heavy lineup anticipated, Hinch indicated lefties Tyler Holton and Drew Sommers could receive more leverage work. First pitch is set for 6:10 p.m. Saturday at Comerica Park in Detroit. TV and radio coverage will be DSN, 97.1, and 107.9.
Scouting the Phillies features LHP Cristopher Sanchez (10-4, 2.62). He possesses the game’s best pitcher WAR (5.1) and one of the premier changeups (plus-11 run value). However, he’s not invincible. He endured a rare clunker in Kansas City, allowing nine runs, 12 hits, and three homers in 3⅓ innings, as the Royals attacked his changeup and slider. When right, though, he’s largely delivered this season, posting a 57.7% ground-ball rate, averaging 10.2 strikeouts and 1.8 walks per nine innings, and maintaining a 38% chase rate and a 32% whiff rate. On the mound for Philadelphia, RHP Casey Miz is expected to start in the offing, and his performance will be watched closely as a potential element in the matchup.