The Detroit Tigers confirmed speculation from earlier by officially placing catcher Alex Avila on the 15-day disabled list on Wednesday afternoon. The team announced that Avila is headed to the DL with a right hamstring strain, and it also announced that Omir Santos has been designated for assignment.
In a corresponding move, the Tigers have purchased the contract of catcher Bryan Holaday from Triple-A Toledo. He wasn't on the 40-man roster, which is why Santos was designated for assignment. The Tigers needed to clear a spot for Holaday, and they did so by sending Santos packing.
Santos had been with the Tigers since last week when Ryan Raburn was sent down to Toledo, and his most notable moment in Detroit was when he hit a walk-off sacrifice fly on Saturday night against the New York Yankees.
With Santos exiting the roster and Avila being placed on the disabled list, the Tigers had an extra spot on the 25-man roster that needed to be filled. They opted to fill it with pitcher Jose Ortega, who has been recalled from Triple-A Toledo.
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