The Tigers have placed starting RF Magglio Ordonez on the 15-day disabled list with a fractured right ankle. He will miss the next six to 8 weeks for the Tigers and that’s a huge blow. Ordonez has played in 84 games for the Tigers this year and he is 98 of 323 (.303 avg, .852 OPS) with 56 runs scored, 12 homers and 59 RBIs. Ryan Raburn and Don Kelly will likely get a lot of P.T. in RF while Ordonez is out unless the Tigers bring in someone better in a trade. Raburn has played in 49 games this season for the Tigers and he is 28 of 138 (.203 avg, .604 OPS)with 15 runs scored, 2 homers and 18 RBIs. He has had some success in the past for the Tigers so maybe he will step up. Don Kelly has not done much this season for the Tigers either. He has played in 73 games for the Tigers this year and he is 26 of 123 (.211 avg, .504 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 1 homer and 8 RBIs. The less Kelly plays the better the Tigers will be off.

UPDATE: (8/24/2010) - Ordonez will have season ending surgery tomorrow on his ankle.

With Brandon Inge out a while it would be nice if Ryan Raburn stepped up. He played in 113 games last season for the Tigers and he was 76 of 261 (.291 avg, .891 OPS) with 44 runs scored, 16 homers, 45 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Raburn looked on the verge of being a very solid player for the Tigers heading into 2010. But he just isn’t the same player right now. Raburn has played in 48 games for the Tigers so far this year and he is 28 of 134 (.209 avg, .621 OPS) with 15 runs scored, 2 homers and 18 RBIs. Raburn has a chance to get his career back on track with the P.T. he’ll likely be getting while Inge is out and he better do something with it.

The Tigers have shut down 21-year old lefty starting pitcher Casey Crosby with recurring swelling in his left elbow. Crosby came into this season as the Tigers’ #2 prospect according to Baseball America. He pitched in 3 games (all starts) in rookie ball this year and he was 0-1 with a 8.76 ERA and a 2.03 WHIP. Crosby has now pitched in 30 games (all starts) in his three years in the majors and he is 10-5 with a 2.96 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. It was smart of the Tigers to shut down Crosby and protect his future.

The Tigers have released 30-year old switch hitting catcher Mike Rabelo. Rabelo played in 10 games in AAA-ball this year and he was 5 of 35 (.143 avg, .452 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 1 homer and 8 RBIs. He played in 52 games in his two years with the Tigers and he was 43 of 169 (.254 avg, .653 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 1 homer and 18 RBIs. Even though Rabelo wasn’t that good of a player he will still go down as a important part of Tigers’ history as he was one of the guys the Tigers traded to the Marlins for Miguel Cabrera.

The Tigers will be without starting 3B Brandon Inge for the next 4-6 weeks due to a broken left pinkie finger. Inge has played in 88 games this year for the Tigers and he is 82 of 312 (.263 avg, .755 OPS) with 22 runs scored, 6 homers and 40 RBIs. It will be interesting to see how the Tigers replace Inge in the starting lineup. They could call Scott Sizemore back up and shift Carlos Guillen to 3B or they could try Ryan Raburn at 3B. Either way they will miss Inge some.