Double hit for Detroit Tigers staff: Anibal Sanchez, Joakim Soria to DL
By Phil Watson
The Detroit Tigers are just 2-4 on their current road trip through New York, Toronto and Pittsburgh and got a double whammy on Sunday as right-handers Anibal Sanchez and Joakim Soria were placed on the 15-day disabled list.
George Sipple of the Detroit Free Press had the news on Sanchez:
Anibal Sanchez is out 3-4 week with a pectoral muscle strain, according to Dave Dombrowski. #Tigers.
— George Sipple ☕️ (@GeorgeSipple) August 10, 2014
James Schmehl of Mlive.com reported on Soria:
#Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski said he anticipates Joakim Soria (left oblique strain) will be sidelined two to three weeks.
— James Schmehl (@jamesschmehl) August 10, 2014
Sanchez, 30, led the American League with a 2.57 ERA last season and has been solid this year as well, going 8-5 with a 3.53 ERA and 1.104 WHOP—a career best—in 21 starts and 125 innings, striking out 102 and ranking seventh in the AL with a fielding independent pitching rate—similar to an ERA—of 2.71.
He was roughed up for four runs on 10 hits in just 4.2 innings against the Blue Jays Friday night.
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The Tigers acquired Sanchez from the Miami Marlins late in the 2012 season and he has posted a 3.11 ERA and 1.163 WHIP in 62 starts since the deal.
He re-signed with the Tigers as a free agent in December 2012, agreeing to a five-year, $82.2 million deal.
The Tigers acquired Soria, 30, from the Texas Rangers for pitchers Jake Thompson and Corey Knebel.
He has struggled since coming to Detroit, with a 10.38 ERA and 2.769 WHIP in six appearances and 4.1 innings. He retired the only two batters he faced in Saturday’s loss at Toronto.
But he had been one of the few bright spots for a Rangers team that has dealt with injuries all season. He saved 17 games and had a 2.70 ERA and 0.870 WHIP in 35 games for Texas.
Soria was a two-time All-Star as a closer for the Kansas City Royals before his career was derailed in 2012 by Tommy John surgery. He came back for the Rangers and had a 3.80 ERA and 1.352 WHIP in 26 appearances and 23.2 innings in the second half of last season.
The Tigers did not make any roster moves to replace Sanchez and Soria on the active roster, leaving their beleaguered bullpen short-handed for Sunday’s game at Toronto.
According to ESPN.com, Detroit will add two players before opening a two-game series with the Pirates in Pittsburgh on Monday.