Tigers Place Ordonez On DL With Ankle Weakness

Tigers outfielder Magglio Ordonez has played the whole 2011 season on essentially one leg, as he's been unable to put much pressure on his surgically repaired right ankle. Friday, the Tigers decided enough was enough and placed him on the 15-day disabled list.

Ordonez had surgery to stabilize a fracture in his right ankle last August by Dr. Phillip Kwong last August. He will had back to Dr. Kwong for further testing and evaluation on the ankle, since it hasn't strengthened.

Ordonez, 37, is hitting .172 with one home run, five RBI and a .459 OPS.

As a corresponding move, the Tigers have purchased the contract of Andy Dirks from Triple-A Toledo. Dirks is an outfielder, but he'll serve as depth with Don Kelly behind the starting outfield of Ryan Raburn, Austin Jackson and Brennan Boesch. Victor Martinez will get an even bigger percentage of the at-bats from the designated hitter slot with Ordonez out, which means Alex Avila will see an increase in workload behind the plate.

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