Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Sang-yeon Kim picked up an injury while pitching and is now dealing with a mild hamstring strain. The club listed him as day-to-day, with the ailment expected to keep him out of action for about two days.

It’s never great to see a starter grab his leg on the mound, but the Tigers caught a break on the severity. A mild strain is a far cry from a tear, and a two-day timeline means the rotation won’t be scrambled for long. You’d rather have a pitcher miss a couple of days in March than a couple of months in August.

Pitching is an unnatural act, and when you combine it with the physical ramp-up of the spring, lower-body tweaks are just part of the daily grind. Kim felt it while delivering a pitch, prompting the training staff to shut him down and get him evaluated. The resulting diagnosis of a mild hamstring strain is about as good as it gets when a pitcher points to his back leg.

The day-to-day designation means the Tigers will monitor him closely over the next 48 hours. If the tightness subsides and he can push off the rubber without wincing, he’ll be back to his normal throwing program quickly. If it lingers, the club has the flexibility to adjust his schedule without blowing up the entire pitching depth.

For now, the focus is on treatment and letting the muscle heal. The Tigers will keep him off the mound until he’s fully right. There’s no sense in rushing a starter back from a hamstring issue just to check a box in the middle of March. You pitch through a blister, you don’t pitch through a strained hamstring. Kim will take his two days, get the leg right, and look to get back on the mound when the training staff gives him the green light.