Tigers Activate Ryan Perry From DL, Outright Enrique Gonzalez

The plan when Ryan Perry began his rehab assignment with Triple-A Toledo last week was for him to be ready for the Detroit Tigers’ game Wednesday in Seattle. All went according to plan as the Tigers activated Perry from the disabled list Wednesday afternoon.

Perry has only appeared in two games this season for Detroit, pitching 1 2/3 innings. He was on the 15-day DL due to an eye infection that developed from allergies to pollen in Florida. His need to use hard contact lenses, as opposed to soft lenses or sports goggles, also contributed to the problem.

To clear a spot on the roster for Perry, reliever Enrique Gonzalez was outrighted to Toledo. That removes him from Detroit’s 40-man roster, and Gonzalez will have the choice of reporting to the Mud Hens or becoming a free agent. Another team could also claim Gonzalez on waivers, but a pitcher who’s allowed seven runs, eight hits and six walks in 5 1/3 innings isn’t likely to draw much interest.

UPDATE: As MLB Trade Rumors points out, outrighting Gonzalez means there's an opening on the 40-man roster. That would allow the Tigers to claim a player on waivers, if needed, without having to make a corresponding roster move.

Ryan Perry Set To Rehab At Triple-A Toledo

Detroit Tigers reliever Ryan Perry is eligible to come off the disabled list on April 20, and he appears to be on schedule to return to the team on that date. While the Tigers begin their west coast road trip, however, Perry will make a couple of rehab appearances with Triple-A Toledo.

The eye infection that put Perry on the DL appears to have cleared up, and if his visit to the eye doctor on Thursday checks out fine, he’ll be ready to go. Pending approval to wear hard contact lenses again, Perry is scheduled to throw a side session in Toledo on Thursday. He’s then set to pitch his first rehab appearance with the Mud Hens on Friday.

Perry will throw 30 pitches or two innings, whichever happens first. From there, he’s scheduled to throw one more side session over the weekend before one more rehab appearance. That will probably come on Monday, keeping Perry on schedule. If all goes well, he’ll then join the Tigers in Seattle on Wednesday.

That might seem strange, with the Tigers traveling the next day before returning to Comerica Park next Friday. But with a day game after a night game (along with pitchers such as Joel Zumaya continuing to be unavailable), the Tigers will probably need all the bullpen help they can get.

Ryan Perry To The DL With Eye Infection, Robbie Weinhardt Called Up

When Robbie Weinhardt was one of the last cuts of Spring Training, most fans knew he'd be back with the big club at some point this season. Five games in, before the Tigers play a single home game, and on the day of Toledo's Opening Day was probably a little earlier than most expected, though. 

He'll be up with the team today in place of Ryan Perry, who is headed to the DL with an eye infection [via Official Tigers Twitter]:

Tigers place RHP Ryan Perry on 15-day DL retro to 4/5 with infected eye. Tigers recall RHP Robbie Weinhardt from Triple A Toledo.

Perry's infected eye comes from dealing with all the pollen in Florida and not being able to find anything to help it:

Perry has been so affected by the high count for tree pollen prevalent in Florida that his eyes are red. "I never had allergies until I came to Florida," Perry said. "And it’s really bad this year. I’m taking everything I can for it, but nothing seems to help."