“Non-displaced” means that the bone has broken but the fragments remain in alignment. Due to the non-displaced nature of the injury, Zumaya may avoid surgery. According to Dr. Jonathan Cluett, recovery time is about 12 weeks. It remains to be seen if that recovery time is sufficient to return a flamethrowing reliever to full health. (more after the jump)

ADDED by John Parent-

Prior to seeing the news today, I had never even heard of the olecranon. Now that I know what it is, it appears that the biggest issues may lie down the road for Zumaya.

While it’s true that Zumaya’s injury could mean he can avoid surgery, it is unclear at this time (and likely will remain unclear until much further down the line) whether or not he will ever regain full range of motion in the elbow. Frequently, people who suffer this type of injury, even in non-displaced fractures, will lose anywhere from 10-20% of the range of motion in their elbow.

Obviously, this would make it very difficult for Zumaya to return as the same type of pitcher, if he could return at all.

None of this takes into account the mental aspects of having your elbow explode during the delivery of a pitch, which is something that will be difficult to overcome even if he is medically able to throw again. How many of us could “let it go” fully when trying to hurl a baseball at upwards of 90 mph, knowing full well the kind of pain that you went through once before?

While initial reports looked like this might be good news (and it still might), I have to wonder if the better news wouldn’t have been a torn ligament. At least with those injuries, there is a track record of success in coming back.

There are no guarantees and very few assurances that Zumaya will ever return from this injury. But here’s hoping he can.

Update – Fox Sports Detroit has an AP update that says team doctors are optimistic that Zumaya could pitch next year.

The xFIP calculation assumes (and rightly so) that if you walk too many hitters, and don’t strike out enough, you’ll get bit more often than not. It also assumes that a certain percentage of fly balls will inevitably clear the fence and a certain percentage of batted balls will end up as hits (some would say Tiger relievers have been “lucky” on fly balls and balls in play). I wouldn’t say that the performance of the bullpen so far has been all smoke and mirrors, but there’s definitively been a little smoke.

Now it appears that the Tigers will be without Joel Zumaya for a while, probably the rest of the year (my guess, we’re still waiting for an official report). This leaves Jose Valverde as the lone man in the bullpen with an xFIP south of 4.50. Phil Coke has done well getting Zumaya and Valverde the ball in the late innings, but I’m not sure I’m comfortable with him being “the guy” in the eighth inning. Eddie Bonine’s numbers are being puffed up by an unsustainably low 0.216 BABIP, and Fu-Te Ni and Brad Thomas have shown no ability to prevent runners from reaching base.

It will be a big boost if Ryan Perry can eventually return from the disabled list healthy, but the team may still need to pilfer a reliable arm (or two) out of the minor leagues. I’m not quite sure if there’s a guy that’s ready to take on late innings in the Major Leagues right now, but they may need to force an inexperienced arm into that role. Casey Fien will be getting the call to the big leagues for now; it will be interesting to see what role he’ll play out of the pen.

After the five out save last night, Jim Leyland said he won’t make Valverde available to pitch tonight, so the Tigers’ will be without their closer and primary setup man.

Jason Beck said it was the quietest he’s heard the Tigers clubhouse since game 163. Less than a month after Mario Impemba said he had never been so disappointed after a Tigers win (those remarks followed the final out of Armando Galarraga’s “perfect” game), the mood in the Tigers clubhouse was especially sour despite the fact that the Tigers had just beaten the Twins and claimed sole possession of first place.

But in winning the game, the Tigers lost one of their top relievers. A mere second after unleashing a 99 mph fastball, right hander Joel Zumaya was writhing in pain. He shook his arm, he took a few steps behind the mound, and he slumped to the ground in agony.

We’ve danced this dance with Zumaya before. After taking baseball by storm as a rookie in 2006, Zumaya’s legend was halted by a series of freak injuries. He blew out a tendon in his finger while warming up in the bullpen, he had a box fall on and crush his valuable right shoulder, he pitched through a fracture in that same shoulder before succumbing to a second surgery. Each time, Zumaya was able to eventually return, each time he did so with his 100 mph heater intact. (more after the jump)

Zumaya will undergo an MRI on his elbow this morning. Catcher Gerald Laird said he heard a “pop” when Zumaya released the pitch , reliever Phil Coke said this was the third time he’s seen a pitcher’s elbow “explode”. It doesn’t appear that this is the same injury that cost the careers of Tom Browning, Tony Saunders, or Dave Draveky, but Zumaya’s agony on the field was certainly reminiscent of those guys.

For now, we’ll just have to assume that Zumaya won’t pitch again this year, that much seems fairly obvious. The bigger question is whether or not he will ever pitch again. At this point, best case scenario might be a trip to Dr. James Andrews and a date with Tommy John surgery. Worst case is that we have seen Zumaya’s last pitch.

The Tigers will make a roster move today, no question about that. Zumaya will be disabled and another arm will be recalled. There are a few candidates, notably Jay Sborz or Robbie Weinhardt. Casey Fien is another possibility. None of those guys bring the same experience or swagger that Zumaya brought to the Tigers. This is a devastating blow to the Tigers chances this year, and beyond.

UPDATE: As Matt noted in the comments below, RHP Casey Fien was recalled this morning and will be in uniform tonight in Minnesota.

Lost in all this, there was a game, and the Tigers did come out on top. Miguel Cabrera drove home two with a pair of doubles. Brennan Boesch moved into a tie with Atlanta’s Jason Heyward, leading all rookies now with 45 RBI, and Laird contributed his second home run of the year.

The Tigers jumped out to an early 4-0 lead against Francisco Liriano when each of the first six batters of the game reached base. They held on to win when Jose Valverde threw 1.2 perfect innings for his 18th save of the year.