You could look at it one of two ways.

A optimist might say that the workload of Tigers trainer Kevin Rand just lessened considerably.

A pessimist might point out that one of the Tigers’ chief rivals may have benefitted from the organization’s reluctance to continue throwing money at that recurring injury issue.

When Joel Zumaya — the former rookie sensation with the Tigers in 2006, and oft-injured since — reportedly signed with the Minnesota Twins on Sunday, it finally closed an uncomfortable chapter for both parties.

MLB.com’s Jason Beck, who first broke the story, reported that Zumaya’s deal could reach anywhere between $800,000 and $1.7 million, based on incentives.

The Tigers, who’d paid him $3.88 million over the last five years but gotten in return just 126 innings in parts of four seasons, were only offering a minor league deal with a spring training invitation.

General manager Dave Dombrowski said at the start of the offseason that he wouldn’t blame Zumaya for taking an offer of guaranteed money, if someone else put it on the table.

But it wasn’t going to be the Tigers.

When he appeared at Comerica Park during the American League Championship Series, Zumaya indicated he’d love to return to the team that drafted him in the 11th round in 2002.

“I don’t know where I’m going to end up next year. Hopefully it’s here. I love this place,” said Zumaya, who later held a workout for scouts, reportedly hitting the mid-90s with his fastball, a showcase the Tigers did not attend.
“If the Tigers want to go ahead and talk and do something, I’m ready. I don’t feel like going anywhere else. I started here and I wish I could end here.”

Considering Zumaya had never matched his rookie season, when he went 6-3 with a 1.94 ERA in 83 games for the World Series-bound Tigers, there’s no guarantee what the Twins will get. He’s endured four surgeries (two since last appearing in a game on June 28, 2010, at Minnesota) to correct injuries to three different parts of his pitching arm — shoulder, finger and elbow — forcing him to miss parts of four seasons and all of last year.

The Tigers, for their part, stuck with Zumaya through all the injuries and rehabs, re-signing him to a one-year, $1.4 million contract at this time last year. But they’d also hamstrung themselves by depending on Zumaya’s presence in the bullpen in the late innings, a weakness that they addressed this offseason with the signing of Octavio Dotel.

Now, both parties have moved on.

With every injury, there's a worst-case scenario.

Unfortunately, for Joel Zumaya, that scenario has come to pass more often than not. And it's again, as he's now opted to have surgery next week that will likely end his career as a Detroit Tiger.

When Dr. James Andrews last examined Zumaya's surgically repaired elbow, seeking an answer to the inexplicable soreness the oft-injured relief pitcher experienced every time he tried to throw, he found no answers. Nothing showed on the MRI or X-rays, nor were there any nerve issues.

Andrews gave two options: A wait-and-see approach of six more weeks of rehabilitation, or exploratory surgery to attempt to pinpoint the elusive cause of the pain.

At the time, Tigers head trainer Kevin Rand said with the surgery option, the timetable "was not favorable for him to pitch in 2011."

Zumaya chose rehab again, but two weeks into the six prescribed, he's changed his mind. He'll have surgery on May 10.

The oft-injured reliever has been through the process before — from the torn ligament in his finger, to shoulder surgery, to the most recent, surgery to fix a broken bone (the olecranon) in his elbow — each time bringing the possibility of being his last chance.

But he signed just a one-year contract with the Tigers in the offseason, and it's unlikely they — or any team — will sign him again until he proves he can avoid injury.

The Tigers may have hamstrung themselves a bit by their loyalty to the popular player, going into the season with inconsistent youngster Ryan Perry as the only truly viable alternative to Zumaya as the seventh-inning specialist. That role has been one of the most glaring problems in a bullpen that has been, unfortunately, rife with them.

If you were waiting for Joel Zumaya to don his Superman cape and swoop to the rescue of the Tigers’ struggling bullpen, don’t hold your breath.

Then again, if you were actually expecting that to happen, it begs the question where you’ve been for the last four years.

The Tigers moved the star-crossed reliever from the 15-day disabled list to the 60-day DL on Monday, meaning that he’ll not be eligible to return to the team until at least the end of May.

Tigers trainer Kevin Rand said last week that Zumaya was expected to be reexamined early this week by noted orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews in Florida after experiencing “radiating pain” in his throwing arm during his first throwing session a few days earlier.

Monday’s news means that examination — which was to include more X-Rays and MRIs, along with an added test, an EMG, to check nerve conductivity — did not go well, other than to rule out nerve-related issues.

“Nothing really jumped out at us any more than what we had already determined,” Rand told reporters in Seattle Monday. “The (elbow) bone has healed up. It’s kind of a puzzle. Nobody can point and say, ‘That’s why he has pain. That’s the cause.’ ”

The options from here — which will be discussed with Andrews and the team’s medical staff — are to continue the rehab program, which could last six more weeks and still yield no progress, or undergo a diagnostic arthroscopic procedure, which might pinpoint the issue.

It’s the latest setback in Zumaya’s halting recovery from the elbow surgery that ended his 2010 season. The right-handed fireballer was placed on the 15-day DL on March 22nd, after just one spring training appearance, with inflammation in his elbow.

He had surgery on the elbow in mid-July, inserting a pin in his right elbow to repair a fracture of the olecranon.

That, however, is just the latest injury in a litany of mishaps that have befallen him since his sensational rookie campaign in 2006. After 62 appearances in the Tigers’ run to the World Series that season, Zumaya has not made more than 31 appearances in a season since, having suffered through a ruptured tendon on the middle finger of his throwing hand, a dislocation of the AC joint in his throwing shoulder, followed by a stress fracture in the same shoulder.

Having seen him fight through injuries before, the Tigers brought Zumaya back on a one-year, $1.4 million contract in the offseason, avoiding arbitration.

After sending 18 down on Tuesday, the Tigers made one more move on Wednesday, reassigning right-hander Brendan Wise to the minor league camp.
Wise, who was 6-2 with a 1.87 ERA between Double-A Erie and Triple-A Toledo last year, had a 5.06 ERA this spring, in 5 1-3 innings of work, but two of his three earned runs were in his last spring outing.
Sending Wise down leaves the Tigers with 39 players in camp, 18 of them pitchers, including the still-rehabilitating Joel Zumaya.

In an announcement that surprised absolutely no one, the Detroit Tigers confirmed on Tuesday that second baseman Carlos Guillen and relief pitcher Joel Zumaya won't be ready for Opening Day.
No more surprising were any of the 18 cuts that the Tigers made this morning, once the extra dozen and a half players were no longer needed for their slew of split-squad games.
In the second week of his enforced layoff from pitching prescribed by noted orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews, Zumaya is still dealing with setbacks after elbow surgery last season. Scar tissue tore loose during the early portion of camp, causing inflammation in Zumaya's surgically-repaired joint.
His absence means the Tigers will still be searching for an arm to handle the bullpen's seventh-inning duties, setting up offseason acquisition Joaquin Benoit and closer Jose Valverde.
The likely candidates for the role now are lefties Daniel Schlereth, Charlie Furbush and non-roster invitee Fu-Te Ni, and right-handers Robbie Weinhardt and Al Albuquerque.
Tigers manager Jim Leyland said last week that there are no players in the organization or available for trade that could replace a "healthy Joel Zumaya," with the emphasis on healthy. As we all know, Zumaya hasn't been that too often since his ballyhooed debut in 2006.
Leyland has also stated repeatedly that Guillen would be his starting second baseman, if healthy, but with the veteran just beginning baserunning activities last week, it appears less and less likely that his rehab from season-ending microfracture knee surgery will permit him back on the field full-time until after the start of the season.
That leaves the starting battle between last year's Opening Day starter at second, Scott Sizemore, and Will Rhymes, the most effective of the many players who filled the position last season. Danny Worth is probably a distant third at this point.
In their cuts Tuesday, the Tigers sent much-heralded pitching prospects Andy Oliver to Triple-A Toledo and Jacob Turner to Double-A Erie. Joining Oliver with the Mudhens are right-handers Lester Oliveros and Jose Ortega and lefty Duane Below, along with shortstops Audy Ciricao and Cale Iorg and first baseman Ryan Strieby.
Also sent down to the minor league camp at Tigertown were the heralded group of young catchers, including Leyland's son, Patrick, Rob Brantly, Bryan Holaday, John Murrian and Omir Santos. Pitchers Chris Oxpring and John Bale, infielders Brandon Douglas and outfielders Avisail Garcia and Ben Guez were the other cuts.