The Tigers finished 2014 with four 200-inning pitchers in their rotation. It appears they'll finish 2015 with zero.
The linchpin of what remains of Detroit's rotation, Anibal Sanchez, landed on the 15-day disabled list Thursday with rotator cuff strain. He was joined on the DL by rookie Daniel Norris, the key return in the trade that sent former ace David Price to Toronto, after Norris left Wednesday night's start against the Cubs with a strained oblique muscle.
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That's 40 percent of a starting staff that already has seen Price depart and Justin Verlander limited by injury to 11 starts. As a result, the Tigers will enter the final month of this season with Alfredo Simon (10-7, 4.84) as perhaps the steadiest hand in their rotation.
It's a far cry from the luxury of Price, Max Scherzer, Rick Porcello and a much more effective Verlander and Sanchez taking the mound down the stretch a year ago, but it's what Brad Ausmus' club has been reduced to after letting most of its high-priced arms depart.
It was no surprise to see Norris land on the DL after the way he left the mound in pain and frustration Wednesday. Sanchez, meanwhile, lasted only 2 1/3 innings the night before, but that was because the right-hander couldn't return following a rain delay that lasted more than two hours.
The attrition leaves the Tigers with a rotation that features Verlander, Simon, Matt Boyd, TBD and TBD.
In the meantime, Detroit recalled Guido Knudson and Jose Valdez to fill out the roster for Thursday's game against the Rangers. Knudson was serving as the closer at Triple-A Toledo. Valdez has one career big-league appearance, July 31 against the Orioles, in which he faced four batters and didn't retire one of them.
