Anthony Fenech

Detroit Free Press

LAKELAND, Fla. – Bobby Parnell is starting to bring the heat.

Two years removed from elbow ligament reconstruction surgery and three weeks into spring training, the Detroit Tigers’ right-handed reliever has regained his mid-90 m.p.h. velocity and is trying to make a late push at one of the team’s open bullpen spots.

“We’re hoping that’s the trend here in the next outings,” manager Brad Ausmus told reporters today.

Parnell threw a scoreless inning in an 8-2 win over the Atlanta Braves, allowing one hit and one walk. He has allowed two runs on seven innings in 7 1/3 innings this spring, with five walks and five strikeouts.

“From an arm strength perspective, you want to see where he is because of the surgery he had a couple years ago,” Ausmus said. “I’m not really concerned about the radar gun when it comes to getting outs, but for arm strength purposes.”

Parnell was signed to a minor league deal late last month. He had a 2.79 ERA in four seasons before having surgery in 2014.

Contact Anthony Fenech: afenech@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter@anthonyfenech.

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