Ryan Perry Optioned Out, Tigers Recall Andy Oliver

Left hander Andy Oliver was recalled this morning and will make his season debut for the Tigers this evening in place of injured southpaw Phil Coke. Oliver, who struggled in a five-game audition last season, has been outstanding at Toledo this year and figures to be a welcome change of pace after the Red Sox pounded a pair of right handers in the first two games of this series, scoring a combined 13 earned runs against Max Scherzer and Rick Porcello.

We had known for several days that Oliver was the guy who would take Coke’s turn in the rotation. What we didn’t know was who would be sent down to make room. Tigers manager Jim Leyland had said earlier in the week that recently recalled lefty Adam Wilk would likely go back down when Oliver was brought up, but instead the Tigers chose to demote right hander Ryan Perry.

Perry has been terrible this year for Detroit, sporting an ERA north of nine. According to Leyland, Perry’s mechanics are all over the place right now, and Toledo is probably a much better place to work through his issues than Detroit is. By optioning a right hander, the Tigers bullpen still employs three southpaws and another one is on the way in newly acquired David Purcey. When Purcey reports to the Tigers, which could be today, the Tigers will have to make another roster move to create a spot for him.

That move could be Wilk going back down, but my money is actually on Charlie Furbush. I know, I know, Furbush has been tremendous in his two games since coming up, he’s allowed zero runs and recorded eight strikeouts over 8.2 innings. But Furbush threw five innings of relief last night and won’t be available to pitch for at least a handful of days so sending him down allows the Tigers to have a full compliment of pitchers in the ‘pen. The first two games of this series showed us that the Tigers could need all the arms they can get right now.

Like what you see here and want to stay informed of the happenings at MCB? Make sure to follow me on twitter, like us on facebook, or grab our RSS feed.