BobbyLayne
Footballguy
DETROIT -- Players are limited to 20 days while on a rehabilitation assignment. Expect outfielder Andy Dirks to use almost all of them, if not every single one of them.
Brad Ausmus said Tuesday that Dirks will not be back in the lineup for the Detroit Tigers anytime soon after he started a rehabilitation assignment Tuesday night with Single-A Lakeland.
"I'm sure he'll use the 20 days," Ausmus said. "He's really almost starting from scratch. That would be not even a full spring training schedule."
Head athletic trainer Kevin Rand shared similar sentiments.
"This is his spring training," Rand said.
Dirks led off and started in left field Tuesday for Lakeland. He flied out in his first at-bat but singled and scored in the fourth inning in his second at-bat.
Rand said Dirks would start out by playing five innings defensively and getting three at-bats with the plan for his playing time being reassessed daily.
"He's been working in the field, but he hasn't been playing because he hasn't had any games he could play in," Rand said. "We've been doing simulated games, that sort of thing. He's done a lot of outfield work. He's ready."
Eventually, Dirks will be moved from Lakeland to Triple-A Toledo to continue his rehab assignment. Dirks will not move to Toledo until sometime after the end of the Triple-A All-Star break, which is set for July 14-16.
"They take three days," Rand said. "We can't lose those days. We have to have him playing. We can't have him playing the Tuesday of the All-Star break, because everybody has that day off. But he can play every other day, and that's what we're trying to do. We're trying to maximize the number of games that he can play."
In other news regarding an injured Tigers player, Rand said relief pitcher Joel Hanrahan threw a 25-pitch bullpen session Saturday but still is not ready to face batters. The Tigers signed Hanrahan in May, about a year after he had Tommy John surgery.
Brad Ausmus said Tuesday that Dirks will not be back in the lineup for the Detroit Tigers anytime soon after he started a rehabilitation assignment Tuesday night with Single-A Lakeland.
"I'm sure he'll use the 20 days," Ausmus said. "He's really almost starting from scratch. That would be not even a full spring training schedule."
Head athletic trainer Kevin Rand shared similar sentiments.
"This is his spring training," Rand said.
Dirks led off and started in left field Tuesday for Lakeland. He flied out in his first at-bat but singled and scored in the fourth inning in his second at-bat.
Rand said Dirks would start out by playing five innings defensively and getting three at-bats with the plan for his playing time being reassessed daily.
"He's been working in the field, but he hasn't been playing because he hasn't had any games he could play in," Rand said. "We've been doing simulated games, that sort of thing. He's done a lot of outfield work. He's ready."
Eventually, Dirks will be moved from Lakeland to Triple-A Toledo to continue his rehab assignment. Dirks will not move to Toledo until sometime after the end of the Triple-A All-Star break, which is set for July 14-16.
"They take three days," Rand said. "We can't lose those days. We have to have him playing. We can't have him playing the Tuesday of the All-Star break, because everybody has that day off. But he can play every other day, and that's what we're trying to do. We're trying to maximize the number of games that he can play."
In other news regarding an injured Tigers player, Rand said relief pitcher Joel Hanrahan threw a 25-pitch bullpen session Saturday but still is not ready to face batters. The Tigers signed Hanrahan in May, about a year after he had Tommy John surgery.
Interesting that 11 Detroit batters all had hits and scored a run.
