Daylight Savings is this Sunday. That means longer days, warming weather, and eventually—baseball. Opening Day is 20 days away and the Detroit Tigers are continuing to trim their roster before heading north. One of the players hoping to make a splash in Motown this year, in an act of redemption, is pitcher Drew VerHagen. The once promising prospect has dealt with his fair share of ups and downs during his back and forth career.
Last year VerHagen posted the second-lowest ERA (4.50) of his career. But it was his second half of 2018 that made VerHagen someone to keep your eye on this spring. In the second half of 2o18, VerHagen posted a 2.61 ERA in 31 innings after an abysmal 7.11 ERA in 25.1 innings during the first half. It flew under the radar just how good VerHagen was in the second half due to how terrible the team played overall.
So this spring was crucial time for VerHagen to prove his worth and earn a spot on the Tigers 25-man roster leaving Lakeland. Then this news came out:
Drew VerHagen, who didn't make it out of the bottom of the fifth inning yesterday against the Braves, is dealing with "dead arm" symptoms, Tigers pitching coach Rick Anderson said.
— anthony fenech (@anthonyfenech) March 7, 2019
Drew VerHagen is still waiting for test results. Said he felt tingling in his neck-shoulder. Similar to Thoracic Outlet symptoms he’s already dealt with surgically. Thinks anti-inflammatories will knock it out.
— Chris McCosky (@cmccosky) March 8, 2019
Not the news you’d want to get when you’re trying to build on the success of last year’s end to the season. Dead arm is a term that has been floating around the Bigs for a while now and definitely not good news for a pitcher just coming off a winter’s worth of rest. For now, VerHagen will rest the arm, with medication, according to Jason Beck of MLB.com, and hope to be ready to continue to build on his success post All-Star break last season.
For now, VerHagen is on rest and medication. He expects that should get rid of symptoms.
— Jason Beck (@beckjason) March 8, 2019
Here’s to hoping Drew gets healthy and back to form. Lord knows the bullpen could use another arm.
BONUS CONTENT:
10 Greatest Detroit Tigers Hitters of All-Time
The Detroit Tigers have been around for a very long time which means they have a very long list of great hitters. Today we will be taking a look at the top 10 greatest Tigers hitters of all-time. No. 1 on this list should not come as a surprise, but there is sure to be some disagreement when it comes to the other nine who made this list. Who do you think are the greatest hitters ever to wear the Old English ‘D’? Are we in lockstep?
To read more click the link below.
