First up, the Tigers called up Marcus Thames from Toledo. Thames got his first start for the Tigs last night. Thames had been absolutely crushing the ball in Toledo and deserved the promotion.

Thames can hopefully provide some pop to the Tiger’s right field which has been pretty abysmal this year. Bobby Higginson and Monroe have played the bulk of the games out there and have combined to hit .231/.327/.337 with two home runs. Aside from Bobby’s .373 OBA there isn’t a decent stat to be found from that position. In fact, the Tigers’ RF OPS is .664 is last in the AL. In front of the Tigers are the Blue Jays at .674, and the next worst performance from that position is the Royals at .730.

It also should send a message to Craig Monroe who is struggling defensively and hasn’t had the offensive power he had last year. Monroe’s batting average is up considerably, his OBA is up modestly, but his slugging percentage is down dramatically.

To make room for Thames on the 25 man roster, Greg Norton was placed on the DL retroactive to June 18th with a knee injury. To make room on the 40 man roster, the Tigers shifted Fernando Vina from the 15 day DL to the 60 day DL.