Detroit Tigers pitchers Alex Faedo, Kyle Funkhouser to visit specialists for injuries

CLEVELAND — The injury bug bites again (and again).

The Detroit Tigers have two right-handed pitchers — starter Alex Faedo and reliever Kyle Funkhouser — set to visit medical specialists for their injuries. Faedo has discomfort in his right hip, while Funkhouser has missed the entire season with reoccurring pain in his right latissimus dorsi and shoulder.

"He's stopped his throwing program for the time being," Hinch said of Funkhouser's situation. "We're anticipating it being a longer issue once he see more doctors. That's not great news."

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Faedo pitched Tuesday against the Kansas City Royals, allowing four runs on four hits and four walks with two strikeouts in 1⅔ innings. He was chased in his worst MLB start after throwing 60 pitches.

"I'm healthy," Faedo said then.

Before facing the Royals, Faedo pitched July 4 against the Cleveland Guardians. He exited the game with right hip soreness in the fourth inning. The soreness has flared up again.

The 26-year-old, who underwent Tommy John surgery in January 2021, could miss significant time, but the Tigers won't know the timeline of his absence until his examination by experts.

"We've had a really rough year health-wise," Hinch said, "but you start factoring in specialists and flying around the country seeing doctors, it's never a good sign. ... A lot of times, it's tough news. I don't want to speculate either way, because I have no idea, but I have my concerns."

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Faedo, the No. 18 overall pick in 2017, has a 5.53 ERA with 25 walks and 44 strikeouts in 53⅔ innings over 12 starts this season. Funkhouser, meanwhile, hasn't pitched for the Tigers in 2022.

And it seems unlikely he will return until 2023.

Funkhouser has been injured since early March, during MLB's lockout and before spring training started. Despite initiating several throwing programs, the 28-year-old has been shut down by the organization each time due to the same lat/shoulder issue.

He had been rehabbing in Lakeland, Florida.

"The doctors will give us the advice on any medical situation," Hinch said. "The player always has the right to go and see additional doctors that he sees fit, and we certainly fully support that."

'This is a serious situation'

Although this isn't injury-related, right-handed reliever José Cisnero — activated Thursday in anticipation of making his season debut this weekend — has left the Tigers for a family emergency.

The team placed Cisnero on the bereavement list Friday.

"We'll respect his privacy," Hinch said. "It's heartbreaking for him. I feel for him. This is a serious situation with his family."

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When a player is on the bereavement list, he must miss a minimum of three games and can miss up to seven games. To replace Cisnero, the Tigers promoted right-handed reliever Ángel De Jesus from Triple-A Toledo.

De Jesus posted a 5.40 ERA with 13 walks and 29 strikeouts over 28⅓ innings for the Mud Hens. He made his MLB debut in April and pitched one game (two innings) before returning to the minors.

"I've already tasted how it is being here," De Jesus said, with Tigers bilingual coordinator Carlos Guillen interpreting. "Everybody wants to be here. Nobody wants to be down there. Instead of putting my head down, I kept it up and motivated myself to get back." 

About an hour before the Tigers learned Cisnero had a family emergency, right-handed reliever Drew Carlton was designated for assignment. Removing Carlton from the 40-man roster — thus exposing him to waivers — opened a spot for Cisnero to transition from the 60-day injured list to the 40-man roster.

Revised pitching plan

The Tigers planned to start right-hander Beau Brieske for Sunday's series finale against the Guardians. Instead, it'll be a bullpen-only game. Left-hander Tyler Alexander and right-hander Will Vest are candidates to open.

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Brieske, 24, isn't starting Sunday because the Tigers want to rest him ahead of the All-Star break. He has already thrown 91⅔ innings this season, with 81⅔ of those innings in the big leagues.

In 2021, Brieske threw 106⅔ innings in the minors.

Brieske has a 4.19 ERA with 25 walks and 54 strikeouts in 15 starts for the Tigers this season.

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold. Read more on the Detroit Tigers and sign up for our Tigers newsletter.