Last Sunday, Daniel Norris joined the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens for his rehab start out of the Detroit Tigers’ complex in Lakeland, Florida. It went well. Norris allowed just one hard hit ball, struck out four, and scattered three hits and a walk in allowing just one run. More importantly, his pitch count was set at 75 for the day. That last number indicated that a return to the Tigers was close at hand. The question was the role manager Ron Gardenhire would use him in.
On Monday, the expectation was that Norris would rejoin the Tigers’ bullpen, but on Tuesday, Gardenhire seemed to change his tune.