BALTIMORE — The Detroit Tigers announced four roster moves ahead of Wednesday’s game against the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards as a result of Tuesday’s collision between outfielders Akil Baddoo and Derek Hill.
The Tigers placed Baddoo on the seven-day concussion injured list and Hill on the 10-day injured list with a left ribcage contusion.
To replace them, infielder Zack Short was called up from Triple-A Toledo just one day after being sent down. The organization also added first baseman Renato Nunez to the 40-man roster and to the MLB roster.
The 40-man roster, which had one open spot, is now full.
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In the eighth inning of Tuesday’s 9-4 win, Anthony Santander drilled a fly ball between Baddoo in left field and Hill in center field. The players ran into each other — with Hill making the catch — and dropped to the warning track in pain.
Baddoo, 22, is an American League Rookie of the Year candidate, after being selected in December’s Rule 5 draft. He is hitting .267 with 18 doubles, six triples, 10 home runs and 45 RBIs despite never playing above the High-A level in the minor leagues.
Hill is finally showing some consistency after the Tigers drafted him No. 23 overall in 2014. Over 28 games this season, he has a .250 batting average, one triple, one home run and eight RBIs, with six stolen bases.
Without Baddoo and Hill, the Tigers are left with two true outfielders: Robbie Grossman and Victor Reyes. But three of their teammates — catcher Eric Haase and utility players Niko Goodrum and Harold Castro — have outfield experience.
When Baddoo and Hill exited Tuesday’s game, Haase handled left field and Goodrum handled center field.
The Tigers filled the infield void — considering Goodrum is expected to play more in the outfield — by calling up Short, who was demoted to Triple-A Toledo on Tuesday when Goodrum returned from the injured list. The 26-year-old has a .145 batting average, five home runs, 17 RBIs, 18 strikeouts and 48 walks in 40 games with the Tigers.
In Toledo’s 9-4 win over Columbus on Tuesday, Short went 3-for-4 with two RBIs.
Nunez doubled and homered Tuesday to produce four RBIs as part of a two-hit performance. For the Mud Hens, the 27-year-old hit .291 with 20 home runs, 64 RBIs, 31 walks and 76 strikeouts over 74 games.
His production convinced the Tigers to bring him back to the big leagues, where he played seven games in April but went 4-for-27 (.148) with two homers, three RBIs, one walk and eight strikeouts. He was then designated for assignment and, after passing through waivers, sent back to Toledo.
Evan Petzold is a sports reporter at the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold. Read more on the Detroit Tigers and sign up for our Tigers newsletter.