Tigers Injury Update: Troy Melton rehab assignment, Justin Verlander next steps, Gleyber Torres

Troy Melton threw his first rehab start in Single-A Lakeland on Sunday, pitching 1 2/3 innings and giving up one earned run while striking out two. He officially onto the Tigers' 60-day IL with elbow inflammation in early March, but he'd been shut down even earlier than that and didn't pitch in a spring training game.

Even though he leaned much more heavily on breaking balls, his velocity was there in his return to the mound; his fastball got up to 99 MPH and sat just over 97.

If he'd managed to have a fully healthy spring, it's likely would've ended up in the bullpen as a long reliever if not in Triple-A. Now that the Tigers have a starting pitcher deficit with Casey Mize on the IL, they're building him back up as a starter.

Pitching chaos will do until Melton returns — it worked out for the Tigers nicely on Sunday — but he could get a temporary stay as Detroit's fifth starter when he's ready for a major league return.

Tigers Injury Update: Justin Verlander feeling good enough for a rehab assignment

Justin Verlander threw a bullpen session on Sunday and, for once, came out of it feeling good. He was still in some discomfort during his last few tries, and the Tigers are treating him with an abundance of caution. It never necessitated a step back, but he's had to repeat this one multiple times.

He felt so good coming out of this latest session that he believes he's ready to face live hitters. In other words: a rehab assignment. Evan Woodbery of MLive noted that this had yet to be cleared by the brass.

Verlander expressed impatience with the way his rehab has played out since he went onto the IL with hip inflammation on April 1, but acknowledged that Sunday was a win.

Tigers Injury Update: Gleyber Torres day-to-day after early exit

Gleyber Torres exited Saturday's game against the Rangers in the fourth inning with what the Tigers later called left side tightness. It sent a collective groan throughout Tigers fandom, as Detroit is already facing the absences of Parker Meadows, Zach McKinstry, and Javy Báez.

But the good news (for now): Torres' tests came back clean, and he was ruled day-to-day.

The Tigers offense was more than fine in Torres' absence on Sunday, beating the Rangers 7-1 on Sunday Night Baseball, but the last thing this team needs is another infield option going onto the IL.

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