Tigers sticking with extra reliever against Seattle

Tigers sticking with extra reliever against Seattle
By Jason Beck and Chris Vannini / MLB.com | 06/10/11 12:07 AM ET

DETROIT -- The Tigers might well have been anticipating an Ordonez return this week when they opted to send down Omir Santos, rather than another pitcher, to make room for Phil Coke's return Wednesday. But now that Ordonez isn't expected back until Monday, Leyland said the Tigers will stick with their current roster with an extra reliever, even against a Mariners club that has struggled offensively.

"We probably would've held onto Santos longer if he felt like Magglio was going to be [returning] Monday," Leyland said. "But it didn't look like that. And we had to get Coke on. We might've gone in a different direction [with the move]."

Still, the issue with the 25th roster spot is the same as last week: The Tigers are so set positionally at the moment that an extra player likely won't see much time, if any.

"We just felt like right now that we have a bunch of young guys playing, that we want to play," Leyland said. "Who do you bring right now, really? If you brought somebody right now, you might just be bringing somebody possibly for a pinch-runner, that might save you a little bit if you want to run somebody. We don't really have anybody down there to come up here to start and play that much. They'd probably just sit around, which hopefully the reliever will, too. It just didn't really make much sense right now."

The Tigers called up lefty reliever Adam Wilk last weekend as a replacement for David Purcey, who spent a day on paternity leave to be with his wife for the birth of their twins. Purcey rejoined the team Monday, but through a series of roster moves series, Wilk remains in Detroit's bullpen.

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog and follow him on Twitter @beckjason. Chris Vannini is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.