Magglio Ordonez Nearing Return
By Editorial Staff
Magglio Ordonez seems to be nearing his return to the Tigers, as the outfielder told reporters Tuesday evening that he plans to rejoin the team in Detroit Thursday.
The six time All-Star has been out since May 10th with what was described as ankle weakness. Ordonez has also suffered from an undiagnosed case of offensive weakness this season.
Ordonez made the declaration of his return before his 5th minor league rehab start. Over his five games, the 37 year old is batting .286. That’s about 110 points higher than the batting average he took with him to the DL.
Before his injury, Ordonez had only managed an OPS of .459 on the year. He’s been at or below the Mendoza Line since April 18th.
Manager Jim Leyland has been pretty mum on the whole Ordonez-return situation, probably because the outfielder’s been hitting like a pitcher. He could also be frustrated that the near quadragenarian is costing his club $10 million this year.
Detroit has fared quite well without Ordonez. The club has won 8 of 9 to come within a game and a half of first place Cleveland in the AL Central.