VerHagen is expected to work out of the bullpen during the Tigers' weekend series with the Indians after manager Ron Gardenhire named Artie Lewicki as the team's starter for Sunday, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.
Due to a doubleheader Monday against the Yankees, VerHagen was summoned from Triple-A Toledo and made his first start of the season with the big club, giving up seven runs on seven hits and two walks in 3.2 innings. With Jordan Zimmermann (shoulder) and Francisco Liriano (hamstring) both set to remain on the disabled list through the weekend, VerHagen could have made a case to stick in the rotation for one more turn with a strong showing Monday. Since VerHagen fared poorly in that outing, it was likely an easy decision for Gardenhire to give another start to Lewicki, who filled in for Liriano on Tuesday against the Red Sox and also lasted only 3.2 innings, but limited the damage to four runs (two earned). VerHagen seems unlikely to stick around in the Tigers' bullpen for long, regardless of how he performs in his subsequent appearances.