Reliever Eduardo Sanchez, who was removed from Wednesday's game after just four pitches, has been diagnosed with a stress fracture of the olecranon, and will be out for an extended period of time, the Detroit Tigers say.

The 25-year-old Sanchez made 43 appearances with the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2011 and 2012 seasons, then made just four with the Cubs last season. He was signed by the Tigers to a minor league contract, and given a non-roster invitation to spring training.

It's an injury in essentially the same spot as the one that ended Joel Zumaya's career. The olecranon is the tip of one of the two bones in the forearm (the ulna) which protrudes behind the elbow. Current Tigers reliever Al Alburquerque also had Dec. 2011 surgery inserting a screw to stabilize a non-displaced fracture of the olecranon. He missed the first part of the 2012 season in recovery.

Up until Thursday's announcement, the Tigers had been relatively injury free in spring training. Neither Miguel Cabrera nor Justin Verlander, coming off core muscle repair surgery in the offseason, have been severely limited. The only other things to cause any players to miss time were a sore elbow for Duane Below, back spasms for Alex Avila and allergy issues for Bruce Rondon.