Zimmermann injures lat in return, undergoes MRI

DETROIT — The Tigers held off at Monday’s non-waiver Trade Deadline because they anticipated getting an impact from injured players coming back. They experienced the yin and yang of those returns in a 24-hour span.

After J.D. Martinez stepped off the disabled list to power the Tigers to victory on Wednesday night, Jordan Zimmermann’s struggles in his first start since June 30 had the opposite effect on Thursday afternoon, accounting for all the damage in a 6-3 loss to the White Sox.

As big as the end to Detroit’s eight-game winning streak seemed, the possibility of Zimmermann missing more time with injury loomed larger.

After allowing six runs and recording five outs, Zimmermann left Comerica Park to undergo an MRI on his right lat. It’s a different injury, lower than the right neck strain that sidelined him for July, but his struggles showed that it’s of similar importance.

“We’re not going to do anything [rotation-wise] until we find out what’s going on with Zimm,” Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said. “At that point, we may have to make some type of move. Right now, there’s nothing to tell you about that.”

The issue wasn’t pain, but tightness. From pregame warmups to early pitches, Zimmermann struggled to get loose, an odd concept on an afternoon with a …

continue reading in source mlb.mlb.com