DETROIT -- Todd Jones' season appears likely to be over. The Tigers reliever is headed back to his home in Alabama after his rehab effort and subsequent tests showed neither progress nor healing in his ailing right shoulder and rotator cuff.

He's expected to rejoin the team in September, but as of now, he seems unlikely to pitch. Given his uncertain future, his pitching career appears to be nearing a crossroads, and this could be a prelude to going home for good.

"It's just not right right now," manager Jim Leyland said on Wednesday afternoon, "and we're going to just send him home and get away from it and just kind of put everything on hold."

Jones held a closed-door meeting with players and coaches on Wednesday afternoon to explain his situation before taking his bags and leaving.

Jones first went on the disabled list at the end of July with right shoulder inflammation. He came back a couple weeks later, the first day he was eligible, and made one appearance before going back on the DL with recurring stiffness. At that point, the Tigers planned on calling him back up once rosters expanded in September if he felt right.

As of now, he does not. He played catch on Friday and still didn't feel well, he said, so he visited a doctor on Monday. Tests on his shoulder showed a frayed rotator cuff.

Jones has been known to pitch through injuries and pain. This one, however, has proven too much for him to pitch effectively. He has said more than once, including this week, that he will not undergo surgery to continue his career.

Leyland said he talked with Jones on Tuesday.

"We had a good conversation, just to discuss some things," Leyland said. "[President/general manager] Dave [Dombrowski] had discussed some things, and I relayed some of Dave's thought process. Just discussed it with Todd, kind of left it up to him, told him if he wanted to get away from it and just come back later, that was fine. I think he's fine with that."

Whether Jones feels fine or not, Leyland still figures he'll rejoin the team sometime next month. The question is in what kind of role.

"I think he will probably come back at some point," Leyland said. "Whether he'll pitch or not is the big question mark. He tried to throw a little bit the other day and it wasn't right, so we'll just basically shut it down and see what happens, maybe come back up later on in September. But I don't foresee him really pitching at this point."

Jones has not discussed his future beyond this season. As a free agent at season's end, however, the 40-year-old's pitching days could be over. He's 4-1 with a 4.97 ERA in 45 games this season, having saved 18 games in 21 opportunities to push his career mark to 319 career saves, 14th on the all-time Major League list. His 235 saves as a Tiger are a franchise record.