[6] Injuries aside, however, the Tigers were reluctant to part with their young pitcher at the 1987 trade deadline when they were in need of a veteran arm for the major league club's playoff drive.

Instead, they opted to ship fellow minor league pitcher John Smoltz to the Atlanta Braves for Doyle Alexander.

[7] He returned healthy in 1988 to go 13–7 with a 2.59 ERA and 176 strikeouts for the Toledo Mud Hens to earn International League Most Valuable Pitcher honors[8] and a call up to the majors in late August.

[12] After four relief appearances, Searcy made a second start against the Minnesota Twins on September 17 to earn his first major league win.

[19] Searcy spent the rest of the 1992 season assigned to the Dodgers' triple A Pacific Coast League affiliate, the Albuquerque Dukes.

[21] Unable to land either position, he spent the season with the triple A Rochester Red Wings, where he went 2–1 with a 6.00 ERA in sixteen relief appearances.