Detroit Tigers: With Catcher Injuries, Team Calls Up Bryan Holaday

The Detroit Tigers' biggest problem all season has been the production at second base, but today, Tigers' catcher Alex Avila was placed on the 15-day disabled list, according to James Schmehl of MLive.com, and the catcher position has become a mess.

Avila re-aggravated a right hamstring injury on Tuesday and was forced to leave the game against the Cleveland Indians in the fifth inning. Even before placing Avila on the DL Wednesday, Detroit called up 24-year-old Bryan Holaday from Triple-A Toledo.

Holaday joined the team in Detroit and is slated to make his Major League debut on Wednesday against the Indians, according to John Wagner of the Toledo Blade.

Holaday hit .248 with 10 RBI in 36 games with the Toledo this season, and, following Quintin Berry, he'll be the second Tiger to make his MLB debut in a two-week span.

The Tigers were steady behind the plate with Avila's continued emergence this season, backed up by veteran catcher Gerald Laird.

Avila, who sat out the Tigers last two games of the last series against the New York Yankees nursing his hamstring, is hitting .250 this season, with a .338 on-base percentage, five home runs and 20 RBI. He got off to a rough start in April, but hit .278 in May, and has played behind the plate almost everyday for Detroit. 

Laird is quietly having a good season as a backup catcher. Laird is hitting .300 with a pair of home runs in 20 games this season, but he's also been bothered by a nagging hamstring injury which prompted the Tigers to call up third string catcher Omir Santos from Triple-A last week for emergency situations.

Enter a mess waiting to happen.

Because of the DL-bound Avila and the uncertainty of Laird, the Tigers called up Holaday, and sent Santos back down to the minors on Wednesday.

After sending Santos back to Toledo and with Avila on the DL, the Tigers needed to fill a roster spot. Detroit called up 23-year-old right-handed relief pitcher Jose Ortega from Toledo. Ortega has been in the Tigers organization since 2007, but hasn't thrown a Major League pitch.

He's 3-4 with a 4.03 ERA and 37 strikeouts in 23 games for the Mud Hens this year.

The Tigers now only have two catchers on the active roster, one of them is making his debut tonight, and the other is a hobbled, 32-year-old reserve who has only started in back-to-back games twice this season.

Holaday, the Tigers' sixth-round draft pick in 2010, doesn't have the greatest numbers for the Mud Hens this season, but he's quickly worked his way up the minor league ranks.

Out of TCU, he started his professional career in 2010 with elevated Single-A Lakeland, and moved up to Double-A Erie in 2011. He showed some power last season, hitting seven home runs, with 42 RBI in 95 games last season, moving up to Triple-A. He will get his first shot at the show on Wednesday.

Holaday will catch Max Scherzer against the Indians in his debut, and with the Tigers' lingering struggles, the rookie will need to be an adequate replacement for Avila or things may get out of hand quickly.

The Tigers are five games under .500 at 25-30, and the catcher is the captain of the infield. Detroit has a young rotation, which has scuffled at times, and Holaday has been thrown into the fire for a desperate team watching an American League Central Division title slipping through their fingers.