Tigers OF Don Kelly Accepts Triple-A Demotion, Refuses To Become Free Agent

Although he was outrighted to Triple-A Toledo on Thursday morning and now faces a completely uncertain future with the club, Detroit Tigers outfielder Don Kelly has officially accepted his assignment and will join his new teammates in the minors according to MLive.com's Chris Iott.

Had Kelly refused the demotion, he would have hit the free agent market immediately and likely would have received a few casual looks from teams still in search of a low-risk bat off the bench. But by staying with the Tigers, the same organization that strangely allowed him suit up for 232 games from 2010-2011 despite a .244 average during that span, the 32-year-old outfielder seems to be perfectly fine staying in his comfort zone.

A career .231 hitter in the big leagues who posted a woeful .175 mark in 103 sporadic at-bats this year, Kelly has only finished one season in his career where he owned a positive OWAR rating (offensive wins above replacement), and clearly was not going to beat out guys like Andy Dirks, Jeff Baker and Quintin Berry for playing time going forward. Although he has always been a favorite of manager Jim Leyland during his tenure, Kelly simply became more expendable than ever after some of the team's latest acquisitions.

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Tigers Outright Don Kelly To Toledo

The Detroit Tigers outrighted Don Kelly to Triple-A Toledo on Thursday after the outfielder cleared waivers. He was sent down to make room for Andy Dirks.

Tigers have outrighted the contract of Don Kelly to Triple A Toledo. #tigers

— Brian Britten (@BBritten_Tigers) August 9, 2012

Kelly hit .174 in 65 games with Detroit this season. The 32-year old has spent parts of the last four seasons with the Tigers and has a .234 average with the club. He began his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

He became expendable because of Dirks' return and the emergence of Quintin Berry. The Tigers rookie outfielder is hitting .282 with 15 steals.

The Tigers begin a three-game series against the Texas Rangers this weekend.

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Tigers Activate Andy Dirks From DL, Designate Don Kelly For Assignment

On Friday, the Detroit Tigers announced via the official Twitter account of Media Relations Director Brian Britten that the club has activated outfielder Andy Dirks from the disabled list and in the process was forced to designate outfielder Don Kelly for assignment.

Tigers have reinstated Dirks from DL today. Club designated Don Kelly for assignment today. #tigers

— Brian Britten (@BBritten_Tigers) August 3, 2012

Dirks had been inactive since May 31 and has been healing from an Achilles injury in his right foot.

With Dirks' return, moving Kelly became a necessity because of the amount of left-handed hitting outfielders on the roster. It merely became a numbers game.

Andy Dirks is a left-handed hitting OF. So is Quintin Berry. So is Don Kelly. For Dirks and Berry to play, Kelly became odd man out. #Tigers

— Jason Beck (@beckjason) August 3, 2012

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Andy Dirks Injury: Tigers OF Sent To Toledo On Rehab Assignment

Finally ready to take the next step on his road to rejoining the Tigers, injured Detroit outfielder Andy Dirks was assigned to Triple-A Toledo on Sunday to begin his rehab assignment:

After a few delays in his recovery process slowed down his timetable, it is expected that Dirks will play with the Mud Hens for a decent amount of time to get his feet back under him. Because with No. 2 hitter Quintin Berry still finding numerous ways to contribute both offensively and defensively in Dirks' absence, it doesn't appear necessary for the Tigers to rush Dirks back to the big leagues unless he's both 100 percent and contributing at a high level.

Detroit manager Jim Leyland has already stated that he expects his young outfielder to spend "quite a while" in the minors, but it's good to see that the 26-year-old budding talent appears to be pretty much over the Achilles injury that forced him to the shelf. Even if he is indeed able to regain his stroke from the plate, it's likely that the Tigers will wait until Dirks looks flawless on the basepaths before calling him back up.

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Andy Dirks Injury: Soreness In Achilles Following Workout Delays Rehab Assignment

Soreness in the Achilles tendon has dealt a setback to Detroit Tigers outfielder Andy Dirks, according to the Detroit Free Press. Dirks had appeared to be headed for a rehab assignment, but that has been put on hold after Dirks experienced some soreness following a workout with Tigers trainers. It does not appear to be anything major, and Dirks was optimistic about the timetable:

Dirks said his right foot is improving, and he didn’t rule out a rehab assignment later this week: "That is still a possibility."

Dirks went on the disabled list in early June after playing on a sore Achilles made the injury worse. The utility outfielder was batting .328 in 37 games prior to going on the DL.

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Andy Dirks Injury: Tigers OF Making Progress, Could Face Lengthy Stint In Minors

Once hoped to be back with the club by the end of July, injured Detroit Tigers outfielder Andy Dirks was assessed by the team's training staff on Monday in an effort to determine his readiness for a rehab assignment. And while the timetable for his injured right Achilles is still not entirely certain, the 26-year-old outfielder is eager to get back on the field and pick up where he left off from the plate. Still, Tigers manager Jim Leyland does not expect Dirks to return to the big league squad any time soon according to The Oakland Press' Matthew Mowery:

Back to running the bases and reportedly feeling better than ever, Dirks is hoping to kick off his rehab assignment in Toledo later on this week. But because of his lengthy absence from the lineup, Leyland made it fully clear on Monday that he wants his young outfielder to see an abundance of Triple-A pitching before he's willing to give him the call. "He’s been out two months, six weeks plus," Leyland told MLive.com's James Schmehl. "He’s going to have to go out and get at-bats, and it won’t just be three or four days of at-bats. That’s still a process."

Even though those late July and early August estimations now seem a tad generous with his timetable still up in the air, it's good to know that Dirks will return at some point this season, and likely in the heart of the Tigers' playoff push.

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Andy Dirks Injury: Tigers OF Likely To Start Rehab Assignment Soon

The arduous process of returning from an Achilles injury is starting to get into the closing steps for Detroit Tigers outfielder Andy Dirks, though he still won't be swinging the bat with the team all that soon. According to an article from MLive.com, Dirks has started working out recently and will visit the team to be checked out by the training staff on Monday.

If all goes well, Dirks is likely to start a rehabilitation assignment as soon as this week.

"We're going to assess where he is from a running standpoint and take him through a progression to make sure he's ready to base-run," head athletic trainer Kevin Rand said Sunday morning. "Once we do that, we'll get him out and ready to play.

"My hope is he'll be ready to go out on a rehab assignment during this homestand."

Before being sent to the DL with Achilles tendinitis on May 31, Dirks had been having a superb season for the Tigers, hitting .328/.379/.515 for the team in the 37 games he had appeared in.

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Andy Dirks Injury: Tigers OF Has Walking Boot Removed, Not Expected Back Soon

Faced with a surprisingly long rehab process, Detroit's Andy Dirks received a bit of good news on Thursday as his doctor decided to remove the walking boot on his right foot.

Even though the 26-year-old outfielder is still not yet cleared to resume baseball-related activities, he hopes to prove without a doubt that he's ready to begin more strenuous training in the coming weeks. "It feels better," Dirks told MLive.com. "It's not as tender, it's not as sore."

In response to the timetable the team might be looking at, Tigers manager Jim Leyland hardly sounded optimistic. "He’s going to have to go out and play a while because he’s been out for a long time," Leyland said. "I don’t know when that’s going to be."

The smart money would appear to be an early-to-mid-August return at best, meaning that the Tigers would likely not have Dirks in uniform before the July 31 trade deadline. And without a productive hitter like Dirks in the lineup for a key portion of the divisional race (the part before the deadline, that is), Detroit's hand might just be forced to add another outfielder at the end of July if he isn't making enough progress.

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Andy Dirks Injury: Tigers OF Still Not Ready To Begin Baseball Activities

Placed on the 15-day disabled list on June 3 with a persistent Achilles injury, banged-up Detroit Tigers outfielder Andy Dirks does not appear to be making quite as much progress as initially hoped, and is still not ready to resume baseball activities.

According to MLive.com's Chris Iott, the organization was initially expecting Dirks to have his walking boot removed on Friday, but the 26-year-old outfielder wasn't quite ready.

With speedy minor leaguer Quintin Berry threatening to quite literally run away with one of the Tigers' starting outfield spots, this news certainly doesn't bode well for Dirks' chances at coming back to a team in desperate need for an outfielder. Once expected to possibly avoid a DL stint altogether and merely miss a few games, it remains to be seen if Dirks can produce at the same level whenever he's able to get back on the field.

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Tigers Roster Moves: Andy Dirks To DL, Matt Young Called Up From Toledo

The Detroit Tigers announced a couple of roster moves prior to their game with the New York Yankees on Sunday afternoon as they continue to deal with injury issues.

Andy Dirks has been placed on 15-day DL with right Achilles tendinitis retro to 5/31. Matt Young's contract has been purchased from Toledo.

— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) June 3, 2012

Outfielder Andy Dirks has not played since pinch hitting last Wednesday in Detroit's loss at Boston. The utility outfielder goes on the DL with a .328 bating average and four home runs.

Matt Young was expected to be called up from Triple-A Toledo a couple of days ago but a hamstring injury to catcher Gerald Laird changed those plans. Young will now fill a much-needed spot on the bench to give the Tigers an additional bat and outfielder to utilize.

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Andy Dirks Injury: Tigers OF Might Be Headed To DL

Before the Tigers' loss to the Yankees on Friday night, rumors were swirling around the internet that the Tigers were going to make a move before Saturday night's game. There was some speculation that the move would involve Andy Dirks, who has been nursing a sore achilles this past week, and that he would be headed to the disabled list.

However, plans changed and the Tigers did not make any moves after the game. The reason for that may have had to do with backup catcher Gerald Laird tweaking his hamstring during the course of the game, muddling up the roster even more than it already was.

Dirks' achilles was not supposed to be severe enough to warrant a trip to the DL, but it apparently worsened after his pinch hit appearance on Wednesday night in Boston. He did not play in the series finale and did not play in the opener against the Yankees.

One move the Tigers are expected to make, once someone goes to the DL or gets the axe, is the call up of young, speedy OF Matt Young. He will be the 36th different Tigers player to play in a game this season.

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