Tigers general manager Al Avila said Wednesday that Fulmer (elbow) has been cleared for full baseball activities and will be included on Detroit's 60-man roster when the MLB season resumes in late July, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.
Back in spring training, the Tigers placed Fulmer on the 60-day injured list with the knowledge that his recovery from his March 2019 Tommy John surgery would extend through at least late May. The right-hander has been able to advance through a throwing program without incident in the three-plus months since the league-wide shutdown, with Avila noting that Fulmer has been able to pitch in simulated games of up to three innings, per Jason Beck of MLB.com. The Tigers will still have to formally activate Fulmer from the IL, but the expanded roster from 40 men to 60 should make that transaction merely a procedural one. Detroit is still likely to monitor the 27-year-old's workload carefully coming off a major surgery, but expect the 2016 AL Rookie of the Year to immediately reclaim a spot in the Tigers' Opening Day rotation. In his last season in 2018, Fulmer posted a 4.69 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and 110:46 K:BB over 132.1 innings.