DETROIT — Joe Nathan could return as soon as this weekend. That means a closer controversy is just around the corner.
Nathan, who is on the disabled list with a right elbow flexor strain, is scheduled to throw an inning for Triple-A Toledo on Wednesday. If all goes well, he could be activated as early as Friday. He threw a bullpen session on Monday and felt no ill effects.
“I threw all the pitches and got after it,” the 40-year-old reliever said. “I let it go, aired it out. I had to test it, so we knew what we could do moving forward.”
Nathan got a one-batter save on opening day, striking out ex-teammate and Minnesota outfielder Torii Hunter, but went on the disabled list two days later. He’s pleased how quickly he has recovered.
“It can take a long time,” he said. “From guys I’ve known that have had flexor injuries, they tend to linger for quite a bit. It’s a credit to the training staff and patience. We did the right thing when we needed to, so hopefully we’re on the tail end of it now. I don’t want to say we’re out of the woods because I still have some bruising to deal with, but from where it was to now, it seems very minor.”
What will not be a minor issue for manager Brad Ausmus is what to do when Nathan is ready. Joakim Soria has pitched brilliantly as the closer in Nathan’s absence, racking up a league-high five saves while holding opponents to a .087 average.
Ausmus committed to Nathan early in camp as the closer with Soria filling the eighth-inning role, but Soria may be pitching too well to move him back to a setup role. Ausmus said on Monday he’ll deal with that problem once Nathan is activated.
Nathan will likely be on a short leash even if he returns to his usual role. He blew a career-high seven saves and had a 4.81 ERA in his first season with the Tigers. Now, Ausmus has a viable, veteran option to replace him.