The right hander will undergo Ligament Replacement surgery on Friday after consulting with famed surgeon Dr. Lewis Yocum. The surgery, made famous by former Yankee Tommy John, who was the first to successfully return from this operation, will require a minimum of 9-12 months before Miner can return to a mound.

In all likelihood, this is the last we, as Tigers fans, will hear of Miner. He is making $950,000 this season and is entering his second arbitration year. Expect the Tigers to non-tender him this fall, though he could return on a minor league deal while rehabbing from surgery.

Heading into this past off-season, I was adamant that neither Miner, nor Bobby Seay, should be tendered a contract. Both were and neither has thrown a pitch this season (Seay is attempting to avoid surgery for a torn labrum, a possible career-ending injury). Obviously neither myself nor the Tigers knew of that possibility going in, but there didn’t appear to be a need for either of them. Looks like I was right about that one, anyway.

As far as what this means for this season’s Tigers club, not much. Miner was shut down in the middle of camp in Lakeland and hasn’t thrown a pitch since. In his stead, the Tigers bullpen has been the best in baseball, last night’s blowup not withstanding.

As Mike McClary pointed out at the Daily Fungo, this does mean that Brad Thomas can breath a tad easier about his roster spot for now. In addition to that, the Tigers will move Miner to the 60-day disabled list, which means they can add another player to the 40-man roster should the need arise. This gives the team some flexibility should they want to bring up another player who is not currently on the 40-man.

Miner’s Tigers career, if it is indeed over, ends with a 25-20 record over 157 games (35 starts). In that time he posted a 4.24 ERA. He was 7-5 last season.

The Free Press’ John Lowe has the scoop on a few of them. According to Lowe, Ryan Raburn came down with the flu and will not travel with the team to Milwaukee, he’ll catch a separate flight later in the day so an not to spread his illness throughout the team. Nevermind the commercial passengers on his flight, I guess.

Gerald Laird has missed the passed three games after tweaking a muscle in his groin during batting practice a few days ago. Laird is expected to catch tomorrow when Max Scherzer gets his final tune-up start.

Perennially injured DH Carlos Guillen left yesterday’s game with a spasm in his hamstring. The Tigers are being cautious this close to Opening Day, but manager Jim Leyland said Guillen could have played today, so the injury is not thought to be serious at all. Of course, this is Guillen we’re talking about, so maybe Clete Thomas shouldn’t get too comfy in Toledo.

As far as the two ailing pitchers, Jason Beck says they’ll stay behind in Lakeland when the plane leaves later today. Bobby Seay will soon begin a rehab program in hopes of avoiding rotator cuff surgery. Minimum rehab time is likely six weeks.

Zach Miner will also be in town a bit longer than he had hoped. The right hander has not yet been cleared to resume throwing due to a tender right elbow. The Tigers won’t allow his to throw until he is 100% pain free, something that hasn’t happened yet. It looks as if Miner could be out until early May at this rate, as once he begins to throw, the Tigers will likely place him on a rehab assignment to build his arm strength.

Beck says the injury is a grade 2 tear that nearly qualified as a grade 3, the worst possible tear. Seay was given his options by Dr. James Andrews on Thursday. Surgery, he was told, should be a last resort, as pitchers trying to come back from such a procedure rarely return effectively. In short, this is an injury that frequently ends careers.

Instead, the 31 year old Seay will attempt to strengthen the muscles around the injury through rehab, a process that will take at least six weeks. If all goes well, Seay has a chance to return to form and pitch through the injury, which will not heal itself. It’s a case of the lesser of two evils. Rehabbing the area around the rotator cuff could be Seay’s best chance to resume his career as a major league pitcher.

While there are not guarantees the rehab program will work, it is Seay’s only chance to pitch this season. If he cannot strengthen the area enough to make the pain tolerable, Seay will face a surgery that will take more than a year to return from, if he can come back at all.

Last season, Seay appeared in a career high 67 games for the Tigers, and it’s quite possible he was pitching with the tear even then. When camp opened this spring, Seay said throwing felt “foreign” to him. When his shoulder began to stiffen, Seay was shut-down and diagnosed with bursitis of the upper arm and tendinitis in his shoulder. After rest and medication to calm the area, Seay felt good in his first bullpen session. When he tried again a couple of days later, he could barely lift his arm.

Obviously, the Tigers must move ahead with the idea that Seay will not be available anytime soon, if at all this year. Phil Coke, acquired in the Curtis Granderson trade, will take over as the number one lefty in Detroit’s bullpen, a role he held last year with the Yankees. With final roster cuts coming next week, lefties Brad Thomas and Fu-Te Ni continue to vie for the other available spot.

The only benefit for the Tigers in this news is that, if they so choose, they could move Seay to the 60-day DL, which would allow the team to replace him on the 40-man roster.

This is important if they decide that a non-roster player, such as Jeff Larish or Robbie Weinhardt, should break camp with the team. The 40-man is currently full, so a player would have to be removed in order to add someone else. Seay’s injury could give the Tigers a chance to do so without losing a player altogether.