NewsBonderman set for next rehab start
Tigers righty continues to work on strength, conditioning
By Jason Beck / Special to MLB.com
05/17/09 1:51 PM ET
DETROIT -- Jeremy Bonderman's next rehab outing will have him pitching for Triple-A Toledo on the road Thursday.Manager Jim Leyland confirmed Sunday morning that Bonderman will make the jump after pitching seven innings Saturday night for Class A West Michigan. Bonderman, for his part, was back in the Tigers clubhouse Sunday morning, apparently feeling fine with his shoulder after throwing 94 pitches for the Whitecaps and driving back to Detroit with his father.
Bonderman made his rehab debut for the Whitecaps mainly because they were the one Tigers affiliate in the region that had a home game this weekend. Both Toledo and Double-A Erie are on the road. All three teams will be away from home Thursday, so that point will be moot, leaving Bonderman to hit the road with the Triple-A club when the Hens visit the Braves' new Triple-A affiliate in Gwinnett, Ga.
Until then, Bonderman will stick around with the big club and work with pitching coach Rick Knapp and strength and conditioning coach Javair Gillett.
"It works out well right now, because we're at home," Leyland said. "So he can do his sideline [work] with Rick, and do some more strength work with [head athletic trainer] Kevin [Rand] and [assistant athletic trainer Steve] Carter and Javair. So that's a bonus right now. It was great to see him on the bench the other night and it's great to see his face."
Bonderman said Friday that he could be one or two rehab starts away from being ready to join the Tigers again, but the club has no timetable on that. At this point, they have no urgency to get him back that would override the effort to get him fully healthy.
"We've got 30 days to play with," Leyland said. "That doesn't mean we will."
Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
