DETROIT -- Tigers vs. Royals, RHP Anibal Sanchez vs. RHP Jeremy Guthrie
Early news: Tigers catcher Alex Avila was scratched Friday with a right forearm contusion but it turns out that was the least of his problems.
Saturday morning the Tigers put Avila on the 15-day DL with a loose body in his left knee and recalled Bryan Holaday from Triple-A Toledo.
The Tigers are sending the MRI results to a specialist but it's highly likely that Avila will have to have arthroscopic knee surgery, which could keep him out four to eight weeks.
Dana Wakiji -- He's only hitting .200 but Avila is a valuable player, Dave. How much are they going to miss him?
Dave Hogg -- The pitchers are going to miss him more than the offense. Avila is one of the best pitch framers in the game, and he has a connection with the starters that McCann hasn't had time to develop. Offensively, Avila's never been the same since those long Septembers when he was forced to play every day down the stretch.
DW -- That brings us to the second part of the equation. Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said rookie James McCann will receive the bulk of the playing time.
Dave, based on what you've seen so far, what do you expect to see out of McCann?
DH -- I think he's going to struggle against right-handed pitching, but he'll give the Tigers a nice bottom-of-the order bat against lefties. For better or worse, he's also going to get a lot more experience with the Tigers rotation.
DW -- The positive injury news coming out of this morning is that David Price felt a lot better than he did last night after stepping on a bat and tweaking his hamstring.
The Tigers sent him for an MRI but Price said he expects to make his next start.
Because of the off day Monday, the Tigers have a little bit of flexibility, but are you as optimistic as Price that he'll be out there Thursday against the Minnesota Twins?
DH -- When he first did it, watching the way his leg distorted and he hopped away, my first thought was a Achilles or calf injury. I don't think we'll know anything until he throws a bullpen next week, but I suspect he will be fine.
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