LAKELAND, Fla. -- Detroit Tigers pitching prospect Montreal Robertson will miss six to eight weeks with a right shoulder injury suffered during a weight room accident over the weekend, according to manager Brad Ausmus.
Ausmus said that Robertson will go the non-surgical route -- at least "for now" -- and try to rehab the injury instead.
The right-handed reliever suffered a shoulder subluxation on Saturday while trying to push himself up during a workout. His shoulder "popped out" and he required assistance from the training staff in order for it to be set back into place.
Subluxations are often mistakenly referenced as "partial separations," though according to ESPN's injury expert Stephania Bell, it is a different issue altogether than that of a separation, which is a ligament injury at the AC joint.
According to Bell, a subluxation is when the shoulder "slips" in the joint but doesn't fully dislocate. The severity of the injury often depends on how traumatic the event was (and how much damage to the soft tissue occurred) as well as that particular player's shoulder.
Starting pitcher Anibal Sanchez, who was diagnosed with inflammation of the lower right triceps muscle last week, threw from 90 feet on Tuesday for the second consecutive day.
The plan for Sanchez is to take Wednesday off and resume throwing on Thursday, hopefully throwing from 120 feet. Barring any setbacks, Sanchez could return to the mound as early as Friday or Saturday.
Outfielder Cameron Maybin suffered an offseason injury this winter that has him dealing with some lingering shoulder soreness.
Maybin, who was re-acquired in a trade this November, did not play on Tuesday but he will serve as a designated hitter on Wednesday during the Tigers' split-squad set.
Neither the Tigers nor Maybin sounded too worried about the issue; the team is opting to err on the side of caution in early spring. Maybin does not think there is any reason to be concerned about any structural damage.
"I just want to be a healthy piece of this puzzle," he said.
