KANSAS CITY -- Vance Wilson briefly was back with his Tigers teammates Sunday morning in the visitors' clubhouse at Kauffman Stadium. His chances of coming back in uniform anytime soon look a little better.

Though Wilson still is waiting to see Dr. James Andrews in the next few days, it's unlikely the catcher will need surgery to his fix the right elbow problem that has left him unable to unleash a strong throw. Rather than a nerve problem, the initial opinion from team medical personnel is more muscle related.

"From what our doctor said, I tore something, which is muscle, which is good," Wilson said.

The fact that Wilson feels better now, after a few days of rest, than he did Thursday, when his elbow had swelled after a simple session of light tossing, supports the opinion. The visit with Andrews is meant as a second opinion that hopefully will be the same.

Obviously, that's what the team is hoping for, too.

"I would be shocked if surgery came into play at all," manager Jim Leyland said, "from everything I've heard."

Wilson visited the team on Sunday before heading home to Springdale, Ark. Even the brief visit helped.

"When you go through problems, obviously, being around your family helps," Wilson said. "This is my family, and the guys have been great. I watched [both] the games on TV. I'm not the type where I sit around and mope and stuff like that. I kind of put it all in perspective."

More Tigers will wear 42: Gary Sheffield won't be the only Tigers player wearing No. 42 next Sunday when Major League Baseball celebrates Jackie Robinson Day. After seeing other Major League clubs with multiple players planning to wear No. 42, the Tigers will have all four of their African-American players -- Sheffield, Curtis Granderson, Craig Monroe and Marcus Thames -- and hitting coach Lloyd McClendon wearing the number.

"As you can see, people are interested in it, and they want to do it," Granderson said. "But a lot of people didn't know."

Sheff getting used to DH: Sheffield still is getting used to being an everyday designated hitter, and the frigid weather for most of this week hasn't made matters easier. It's a work in progress for him to get used to filling the time between at-bats.

"Sometimes I come in and ride the bike to try to get a sweat going," Sheffield said Saturday. "Because it's hard to get a sweat going in this kind of weather. When you're running around, you kind of perspire a little bit, but when you're DH-ing, you have to try to come up with something."

He's still trying, with mixed results. He was 1-for-11 through his first three games before going 2-for-2 with a home run and two walks Saturday.

"I'm just trying to figure out different things," he said. "Come back up here, get loose up here and go back in, hit off a tee. I've noticed when I hit off a tee the whole game, you wind up getting tired for that at-bat. So you just pick your spots when you need to get loose. I just have to keep figuring it out."

Bring in the subs: The first of the spot starts came Sunday when Leyland started Thames in left field and gave Monroe a day off. Though Monroe was dealing with some soreness a few days ago, he's not listed on the injury report, and Leyland said that wasn't a reason behind resting him Sunday.

Other off days will come. Leyland said he debated whether to sit Ivan Rodriguez on Monday and give Mike Rabelo his first Major League start, but the skipper decided against it in part because it's the Orioles' home opener. Instead, Leyland plans to start Rabelo in Thursday night's series opener at Toronto. Leyland will look for days this week to get utility infielders Omar Infante and Neifi Perez a start, too.

So far, neither has played at third base. Though Brandon Inge left Sunday still hitless on the season, Leyland has leaned against giving him a day off.

"I think the weather has affected him," Leyland said. "Ingey just needs to take his practice plan into the game. When he does that, he'll be fine."

Inge, for his part, says he feels comfortable in his approach.

"I'm taking perfect swings," he said. "I can't control where it goes. I think they're cheating. They've got like 20 infielders and outfielders out there. I'm on every pitch. I've been fooled a few times, but for the most part, it's pretty good."

Coming up: The Tigers will head to Baltimore for the Orioles' home opener Monday afternoon at Camden Yards. Chad Durbin will make his first start as a Tiger when he takes the mound for the 3:05 p.m. ET start. The talented but enigmatic Daniel Cabrera will start for the O's.