Troy Melton lands on Tigers' 60-day injured list, out until May 25

FORT MYERS, FL – The Detroit Tigers placed right-hander Troy Melton on the 60-day injured list Tuesday, March 10, to create room for left-hander Enmanuel De Jesus joining the 40-man roster.

The roster move sets the timetable for Melton's potential return.

Melton won't be eligible to play in MLB games for the Tigers until May 25, meaning his minimum absence will be roughly 90 days. The 25-year-old has been sidelined since late February with a right elbow injury , which has been diagnosed as elbow inflammation.

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Melton has not suffered a setback in the early stages of his rehab program, primarily consisting of throwing weighted plyo balls. The fact that there hasn't been a setback is a positive sign as he hopes to avoid surgery with a clean recovery process.

But Melton still hasn't restarted his throwing program.

And he isn't close to doing so.

For those reasons, the Tigers put Melton on the 60-day injured list after needing to add De Jesus to the 40-man roster. Had the Tigers not purchased De Jesus' minor-league contract to the 40-man roster, he would've left the Tigers to sign with a team in Asia.

This story will be updated.

Contact Evan Petzold at  epetzold@freepress.com  or follow him  @EvanPetzold .

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Troy Melton injury sends him to Detroit Tigers' 60-day IL