The other shoe has finally dropped as to Brandon Inge's roster replacement.
Rookie 2nd baseman infielder Scott Sizemore was recalled from Toledo this afternoon, and relief pitcher Casey Fien sent back to the Glass City to make room on the Tigers' roster.
With Inge breaking his hand, it's not surprising news Sizemore was called up. Regardless of his early season struggles in Detroit, barely staying above the Mendoza Line (hitting .206 in 30 games), Sizemore remained the Tigers most major league ready position player still in the minors.
This isn't a "cross your fingers and hope he works out" call up. Sizemore earned his way back to the bigs, raking International League pitching to the tune of .329/.392/.515. But he won't be playing the same position.
With Carlos Guillen masking himself at home playing Sizemore's natural 2nd base position, this time around Sizemore will be playing on the left side of the infield.
Via Tom Gage at the Detroit News:
(Leyland being quoted) "We won't play him every day, but he'll probably play (Thursday) -- then every other day for a couple of days."
And after that?
"Whenever it looks like he's ready to play on a regular basis, I'll probably play him more than (Don) Kelly," Leyland said.
Leyland added of Sizemore: "He hasn't played (third) much. If you're expecting Brandon Inge, you're not going to get it."
Going with Scott Sizemore as the primary starter at 3rd base is the Tigers' best option during Inge's absence. Sizemore has the capability to be much better at the plate than Don Kelly, and much better in the field than Ryan Raburn.
If you have better solution that doesn't involve a trade, playing Kelly and Raburn, or calling up Jeff Larish, I'm sure Dave Dombrowski would love to hear from you.