Brennan Boesch (oblique) said Wednesday he's "getting closer" to making his Grapefruit League debut.

Boesch has missed the Tigers' first six games with an oblique strain. His timetable for returning is still a moving target, but he'll have plenty of time to be ready for Opening Day as long as he can avoid setbacks.

Brennan Boesch (oblique) took batting practice Tuesday with no issues.

Boesch took a couple swings on Saturday and again on Monday, but Tuesday's session was presumably more extensive. He's been sidelined with an oblique injury since the early days in camp but could play in a Grapefruit League game by the end of the week.

Brennan Boesch (oblique) could play in a Grapefruit League game by the end of the week.

Boesch had expressed hope of getting into a game by the middle of the week, but evidently the Tigers have a more deliberate timetable. The outfielder took a couple swings on Saturday and again on Monday with no issues. As long as he doesn't have a setback, he'll have plenty of time to heal before Opening Day.

Brennan Boesch (oblique) hopes to be playing in games by the middle of next week.

Boesch tweaked his right oblique over the weekend and has been taking it easy over the past couple of days. The 27-year-old batted just .240/.286/.372 in 503 plate appearances last season and is expected to serve as a reserve outfielder in 2013.

Brennan Boesch is sitting out the Tigers' workout Sunday after tweaking his oblique.

The Tigers are considering him day-to-day for now, but an oblique injury always has the potential to keep him out for a while. Boesch is coming off a down 2012 season and worked on changing his swing over the winter.

Tigers hitting coach Llyod McClendon said he's "extremely excited" about Brennan Boesch after the outfielder tweaked his swing over the offseason.

"You'll see better balance, a shorter stride and shorter stroke," McClendon said. "But I don't think you'll see a lot of differences in his stance. He's just going back to what he was doing when he was doing well. He's gotten a lot of different voices out of his head, so to speak." Boesch batted just .240/.286/.372 with 12 homers and a .659 OPS this past season and doesn't have a starting job heading into spring training. It's possible, though, that he could play his way into regular time in left field.

Tigers avoided arbitration with OF Brennan Boesch by agreeing to a one-year contract.

The financials of the deal aren't yet known. Boesch, who was arbitration-eligible for the first time, batted just .240/.286/.372 with 12 homers and a .659 OPS this past season. He's a trade candidate.

FOX Sports' Jon Morosi reports that the Mariners have engaged in "preliminary discussions" with the Tigers about a trade for outfielder Brennan Boesch.

"No such move is close," writes Morosi, but Boesch could become an attractive fallback option for the Mariners if they're unable to lure in a big free agent outfielder. Boesch, 27, is a .259/.315/.414 career major league hitter through his first 1,487 plate appearances.

CBS Sports' Danny Knobler hears that the Mariners are interested in Brennan Boesch.

He looks like a secondary option, as they're also in on Josh Hamilton and Justin Upton. Boesch no longer has a starting job with the Tigers following the signing of Torii Hunter, but he would have a clearer path to at-bats on the offense-starved Mariners. The 27-year-old is arbitration-eligible for the first time this offseason.

Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com reports that Brennan Boesch has garnered trade interest from multiple teams.

Boesch's future with the Tigers was already in doubt after he batted just .240/.286/.372 with 12 homers and a .659 OPS this season and was left off the postseason roster, but the recent signing of Torii Hunter makes him expendable. Morosi talked to one source who believes that Boesch could be traded during the Winter Meetings. The 27-year-old is arbitration-eligible for the first time this offseason.

Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski said Tuesday that Brennan Boesch will be tendered a contract.

Boesch batted just .240/.286/.372 with 12 home runs, 54 RBI and a .659 OPS this season and was left off the postseason roster, but the Tigers aren't ready to give up on his potential. The 27-year-old is arbitration-eligible for the first time this winter.

Brennan Boesch smashed a three-run homer on Saturday afternoon in Detroit, helping propel the Tigers to a 7-1 victory over the visiting White Sox.

Boesch finished the day 1-for-3, but that one hit was the critical blow in the game. Even more impressive, the sixth-inning blast came off lefty Chris Sale who has been brilliant against left-handed hitters all season. Boesch's bat has started to come alive -- he's now hitting .378 (17-for-45) with three homers and 14 RBI over his last 13 games.

Brennan Boesch had a nice showing in Tuesday's loss to the Twins, going 3-for-4 with a homer and three RBI.

His two-run single in the second inning put the Tigers on top 3-1. Boesch then added a solo shot off Nick Blackburn in the fourth inning for his eighth big fly of the season. The Detroit outfielder has been a disappointment this year but is plenty capable of turning the tide in the second half.

Brennan Boesch went 4-for-5 with a home run, two RBI and two runs scored in Wednesday's win over the Cubs.

Boesch took Manny Corpas deep for a solo shot in the seventh before singling home another run in the eighth. The four-hit night was his first of the season, while the multi-RBI effort was only his fifth. Boesch is hitting a disappointing .252/.280/.389 through Detroit's first 62 games.

Brennan Boesch (sprained right ankle) smacked a pinch-hit single against Reds closer Aroldis Chapman on Sunday.

Boesch was scratched from Sunday night's lineup with the ailment. Chapman was supposed to quell Detroit's rally in the eighth after entering with two men on and no outs, but Boesch didn't accommodate, loading the bases with his one-bagger. Detroit went on to score four runs in the frame and seize a 7-6 lead heading into the bottom of the eighth. Tigers skipper Jim Leyland pinch-ran for Boesch after he got on, so it's apparent Detroit still doesn't trust Boesch's throbbing ankle. Detroit is off Monday, so there's a decent chance that 45 hours of rest will allow Boesch to be healthy enough to play Tuesday night against the Cubs.

Brennan Boesch was hitless in four at-bats, but managed to plate one run in Thursday's 7-3 win over Boston.

Despite enjoying a resurgence in the middle of May, Boesch closed out the month batting 1-for-19. The 27-year-old is not as bad as his .238/.275/.363 triple slash suggests, but he faces an uphill climb to duplicate last year's solid numbers.

Brennan Boesch was moved down to the No. 8 spot in the Tigers' batting order Sunday.

Boesch has batted second all year, but he's in the midst of a slump that has dropped his batting line to .213/.234/.343. He's also struck out 25 times while walking just twice this season. "One thing (Boesch) has to learn to do is to relax," manager Jim Leyland said. Andy Dirks is batting second Sunday.

Brian Boesch drove in both Tiger runs on Wednesday with his fourth home run of the season.

Boesch is slowly crawling back to mediocrity after a slow start, and is now hitting .230/.252/.370. He is enjoying a nine-game hitting streak -- although he has only one hit in eight of those contests.

Brennan Boesch knocked in four runs with a pair of singles Thursday in the 7-2 win over the Rays.

Boesch had been good for all of one run scored and one RBI through the first week of the season, even though the Tigers scored in double figures twice in the span. A lot more is expected from him in the second spot in the order. He managed to drive in the four runs today, but he's still without an extra-base hit this season.

Brennan Boesch was scratched from Sunday's lineup due to neck spasms.

Boesch said it's no big deal and he expects to be back in the lineup Monday. "It happened during a swing this morning," Boesch said. "It's only spring training, so I'm not trying to be hero."