Rangers' Kyle Funkhouser: Returns to mound in Double-A
Rotowire
Funkhouser (shoulder) fires a scoreless inning for Double-A Frisco on Saturday.
It was the 2023 season debut for both Funkhouser and Danny Duffy (forearm), and Funkhouser's went much better as Duffy allowed three runs with three walks while throwing just two-thirds of an inning. Funkhouser has missed the first two months of the season with a right shoulder issue, but the 29-year-old could become a bullpen weapon for the Rangers by the end of 2023 if he can stay healthy.
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Rangers' Kyle Funkhouser: Begins throwing
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Funkhouser (shoulder) threw to live hitters Saturday, Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News reports.
Texas manager Bruce Bochy said Funkhouser will leave for extended spring training in Arizona this weekend and could begin a rehab assignment within a couple of weeks.
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Kyle Funkhouser: Non-tendered after DFA
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The Tigers declined to tender Funkhouser (shoulder) a contract for 2023.
Detroit foreshadowed this move by designating Funkhouser for assignment earlier in the week. He missed all of 2022 with a shoulder injury, one which required surgery in July. Funkhouser said at the time that he expected to be ready for spring training.
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Tigers' Kyle Funkhouser: Designated for assignment
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Funkhouser (shoulder) was designated for assignment by the Tigers on Tuesday.
The right-hander was sidelined for the entirety of 2022 with a shoulder injury, which eventually required surgery in July. The 28-year-old has yet to resume throwing, so the Tigers opted not to carry him on the 40-man roster through the offseason.
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Tigers' Kyle Funkhouser: Not yet throwing
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Funkhouser remains in the pre-throwing phase of his rehab program for the right shoulder surgery he underwent in late July, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports.
Funkhouser didn't pitch for the Tigers or any of their minor-league affiliates in 2022 due to the shoulder injury, which first cropped up in spring training before he opted for surgery months later. The Tigers have yet to reinstate him from the 60-day injured list, but the team will likely have to do so by Nov. 18, the deadline for the team to tender him a contract as a 40-man roster player for 2023.
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Tigers' Kyle Funkhouser: Won't pitch in 2022
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Tigers manager A.J. Hinch confirmed Wednesday that Funkhouser will undergo season-ending surgery on his right shoulder, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.
Hinch said he expects Funkhouser to be good to go for spring training, but that may be wishful thinking, given that the 28-year-old already spent the past four months unsuccessfully rehabbing a right lat strain. Surgery should provide a more permanent fix, but the Tigers may not have a sense if Funkhouser has made a full recovery from the procedure until late in the winter. Before the shoulder issue cropped up in the spring, Funkhouser was expected to fill a key role in the bullpen after he pitched to a 3.42 ERA and struck out 63 over 68.1 innings with the big club in 2021.
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Tigers' Kyle Funkhouser: May need shoulder surgery
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Funkhouser may need shoulder surgery and will not pitch this season, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.
Surgery was a possibility back in spring training when Funkhouser first suffered the lat injury, but he has spent the last four months trying to rehab the injury. It's unclear if he will be ready for spring training.
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Tigers' Kyle Funkhouser: Throwing program shut down
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Funkhouser (shoulder) had his throwing program shut down recently, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.
Funkhouser resumed mound work last week but experienced more pain and discomfort in his lat and shoulder areas. He'll see some specialists in the coming days and should have a better idea of his status afterward. The right-hander has been sidelined since the start of the regular season, and manager A.J. Hinch said that the right-hander's shutdown will likely be a "longer issue" after he visits with the specialists, per Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic.
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Tigers' Kyle Funkhouser: Resumes mound work
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Funkhouser (shoulder) threw off a mound Friday, Joey Pollizze of MLB.com reports.
Funkhouser has been sidelined since the start of the regular season due to his shoulder injury, but he threw off a mound for the first time Friday. He'll likely need to ramp up his intensity in the coming days and weeks but now appears to be making progress in his recovery.
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Tigers' Kyle Funkhouser: Will throw next week
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Funkhouser (shoulder) will throw a bullpen session sometime next week, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.
Funkhouser's injury has prevented him from getting in any work this season, but he is on the verge of getting back up on the bump. If all goes well with his recovery, he could be ready to pitch for the big club at some point in the second half.
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Tigers' Kyle Funkhouser: Could need surgery
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Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said Sunday that Funkhouser is still weighing whether to undergo surgery to address a right lat/shoulder strain, Jason Beck of MLB.com reports.
As a result of Funkhouser's slow progression in his recovery since the injury first cropped up early in spring training, the Tigers transferred the right-hander to the 60-day injured list over the weekend. The move ensures that Funkhouser will be sidelined until June, and he could end up missing the entire 2022 campaign if he elects to go the surgical route for treating the injury. Funkhouser is in the process of seeking more medical opinions on the matter, but even if he gets the green light from doctors to bypass surgery, he'll still likely remain shut down for a few weeks before restarting his throwing program.
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Tigers' Kyle Funkhouser: Placed on 10-day IL
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Funkhouser (shoulder) was placed on the 10-day injured list Wednesday.
Funkhouser doesn't yet have a timetable to return from his right shoulder strain, so it's not very surprising to see him land on the 10-day IL ahead of the regular season. A better idea of his return timeline should come into focus once he's able to resume throwing.
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Tigers' Kyle Funkhouser: Out with lat injury
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Funkhouser is dealing with a lat issue and will likely open the year on the injured list, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.
He was set to work in a mid-leverage role out of the bullpen this season but should be considered out indefinitely.
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Tigers' Kyle Funkhouser: Earns extra-innings win
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Funkhouser (7-3) walked one and struck out one in a scoreless inning to earn the win over Tampa Bay on Sunday.
The right-hander kept Tampa Bay off the board in the 11th inning, and Detroit won with a walkoff walk in its half of the inning. Funkhouser hasn't been very good to start September, allowing six runs in 4.2 innings across four appearances. He owns a 3.45 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 56:33 K:BB in 60 innings overall while adding seven holds and two blown saves.
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Tigers' Kyle Funkhouser: Earns fifth win
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Funkhouser (5-1) struck out the only batter he faced Tuesday night, getting credit for the Tigers' 4-2 victory over the Red Sox.
Funkhouser inherited a two-on, two-out situation in the fifth, but he struck out Alex Verdugo to end the Boston threat. The right-hander has now struck out at least one batter in each of his last 11 outings. After Detroit starter Wily Peralta needed 96 pitches to scrape through 4.2 innings, Funkhouser delivered just seven pitches and got the win. If only they were all this easy.
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Tigers' Kyle Funkhouser: Shifts to bullpen
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Funkhouser struck out the side on 15 pitches over his lone inning of relief in Saturday's 1-0 win over the Twins in the first game of a doubleheader.
Injuries continue to test the Tigers' rotation depth, but Funkhouser doesn't look as though he'll receive a look as a starter. After tossing 2.1 scoreless innings in the opener role in his final outing before the All-Star break, Funkhouser moved back into a traditional bullpen role Saturday, even though Game 1 starter Jose Urena exited after one inning with a groin issue that resulted in him moving to the injured list ahead of Game 2. Tyler Alexander, who started the second game of the twin bill, looks likely to fill Urena's future turns through the rotation, while Detroit is expected to call up Matt Manning from Triple-A Toledo to fill the fifth starter's role during the upcoming week.
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Tigers' Kyle Funkhouser: Effective in short start
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Funkhouser started and tossed 2.1 scoreless innings but didn't factor into the decision Saturday in the Tigers' 9-4 loss to the Twins. He scattered two hits and a walk while striking out two in the 51-pitch outing.
Due to their heavy schedule of late, the Tigers elected to deploy a six-man rotation this week, which allowed Funkhouser to pick up his second start of the season. Since Funkhouser had tossed two innings out of the bullpen two days earlier and had maxed out at 36 pitches over his previous 23 appearances on the season, his workload was predictably limited Saturday. Funkhouser doesn't look like he'll be in line for a long-term stay in the rotation, though he could be a candidate to pick up another spot start before the end of the month since the Tigers are opening their second-half schedule with six games in a five-day stretch.
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Tigers' Kyle Funkhouser: Earns win in relief
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Funkhouser (3-0) earned the win in relief Wednesday against the Rangers after tossing two scoreless innings, walking one and fanning two.
Funkhouser has three wins this season and all of them have come over his last six outings, but perhaps more importantly, he extended his streak of scoreless relief appearances to seven. Funkhouser had a rough 7.27 ERA across 17.1 innings last season in his MLB debut but has been much better in 2021, and he continues to earn a more prominent role out of the bullpen thanks to his current 2.59 ERA across 31.1 frames.
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Tigers' Kyle Funkhouser: Earns first win of season
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Funkhouser (1-0) pitched 1.1 scoreless innings of relief to earn the win Tuesday against the Cardinals. He allowed a hit and a walk with no strikeouts.
Funkhouser was the first Detroit reliever to enter the game, taking over in the fifth inning for starter Tarik Skubal, then working through the sixth. The righty allowed four earned runs while retiring just one batter on Thursday, but aside from that blowup, he's been pretty good lately, with only two earned runs allowed in his other nine appearances this month. Funkhouser now has a 3.57 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 17 strikeouts across 22.2 innings this season.
Funkhouser didn't factor into the decision Sunday against the White Sox after tossing 2.2 scoreless innings, allowing one hit and one walk while fanning one.
Funkhouser tossed his longest outing of the season and delivered some decent results, limiting the damage to just two baserunners before being lifted with one out left in the third inning. Expect him to return to his normal relief role, though he looked good enough here to believe he can work as an opener whenever the Tigers decide to have a bullpen game in the future.
