--OF Curtis Granderson recalled from Triple-A Toledo.
--LHP Doug Creek designated for assignment.
--2B Placido Polanco placed on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to July 12.
--IF John McDonald acquired from the Blue Jays for a PTBNL.
This is clearly a reaction to the roster crunch we talked about yesterday. First, the good news. Curtis Granderson is up, and I hope he's here to stay. The timing is driven in part by today's doubleheader and in part by the fact that Magglio Ordonez can't be expected to play two games in the field, Rondell White can't be expected to play one, and even Nook Logan is a little gimpy. We're still likely to see Kevin Hooper in the outfield at some point today, not a promising sign. Granderson was hitting .297/.361/.520 at Toledo, rebounding after a slow start. His 112 strikeouts are worrisome, but his other numbers across the board are excellent. It'll be interesting to see if he can play a legit major-league centerfield, but his debut was terrific last night (2-5) and I think he's found a home.
John McDonald is a decent-field, no-hit infielder, not an exciting pickup. His career is destined to end in Tampa. I'm not sure why they just didn't bring back Jason Smith. Maybe Toledo needed a shortstop?
Polanco hasn't played in over a week, meaning that his DL trip won't cost him much -- he'll be eligible to play again on Thursday. Presumably they had a choice between disabling him and disabling Dmitri Young, and Young's been a lot more lineup-ready lately and possibly about to break out of his slump (he has a quiet 8-game hitting streak spread out over a couple of weeks).
Doug Creek's time in the majors was always going to be limited. He's 36, and even though he's a lefty and a strikeout pitcher (career 9.2 K/9), he gives up a lot of hits and a lot of home runs. Here's hoping he catches on somewhere, but I don't think it likely.
Justin Verlander will be called up today to pitch, and evidently it will again be a one-game job. Someone else will have to get sent down to make room, or perhaps White will be disabled.
The good news, though, is Granderson, an instant member of the Next Relevant Tiger Team the moment he put his jersey on.
Update [2005-7-23 17:27:6 by Jeff]: I missed the news about Troy Percival moving from the 15 to the 60-day disabled list. The move frees up a spot on the 40-man roster and effectively ends Percival's season.