Detroit Tigers: Michael Fulmer placed on 10-day DL with elbow injury

The Detroit Tigers have placed their most consistent starter of 2017 on the 10-day DL.

In 2017, there haven’t been too many things that have been going right for the Detroit Tigers. Prior to the non-waiver trading deadline, the Tigers decided to become sellers and traded three big pieces in slugging right fielder J.D. Martinez, left-handed reliever Justin Wilson and catcher Alex Avila. The Tigers are now 8.5 games back in the AL Central and are on course to miss the postseason for a third straight year.

One big positive for the Tigers this season, however, has been the continued success of Michael Fulmer. Last season, Fulmer went 11-7 with a 3.06 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP and won the AL Rookie of the Year Award. During the first half of the 2017 campaign, he went 9-6 with a 3.19 ERA.

The new ace?

With Justin Verlander having an up-and-down season, though he has come on very strong in his last few starts, Fulmer has quite arguably been the ace of the staff for most of the year. His success has certainly been noticed around the league as well, with his name even being mentioned in trade speculation.

In four starts since the All-Star break, though, Fulmer has gone only 1-3 with a 5.47 ERA. In Fulmer’s most recent outing, he allowed six earned runs over six innings against the New York Yankees. On Thursday, the Tigers announced that he had been placed on the 10-day DL, retroactive to August 1, with right elbow ulnar neuritis. The team also announced that reliever Edward Mujica had been called up from Triple-A Toledo.

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Mujica made his debut for the Tigers on Thursday night against the Baltimore Orioles. He now has 11 years of major league experience and has posted a career 3.85 ERA with 50 saves. According to Chris McCosky of The Detroit News, manager Brad Ausmus has yet to decide who will replace Fulmer in the Tigers’ rotation.

Aside from Fulmer, the Tigers’ rotation has definitely been one of the areas in which the team has struggled this season. The Tigers’ staff currently ranks 10th and 11th in the American League with a 4.68 ERA and 1.42 WHIP, respectively. Fulmer has also accounted for 17 of the team’s 59 quality starts. Verlander has the second most with 13.