In the end, the decision was a "no-brainer" for Tigers manager Jim Leyland.
Ryan Raburn, with a .146 average in 123 at-bats, needs to go to the minor leagues to try to work out his problems at the plate, and that's where he's headed.
Following Tuesday's 6-3 loss at Boston, the Tigers announced that Raburn was being sent to Triple-A Toledo.
Leyland had done everything he could to help build up Raburn's confidence and to get him out of this deep slump, but the manager finally felt it was like "beating a dead horse."
"There's never been anything I've been more sure of than that he needs to go down,” Leyland told reporters in Boston. "He needs to go and try to find it. As a manager, you have a lot of tough calls, but this was not a tough call."
A similar demotion helped former Tiger Brandon Inge a year ago. Inge was hitting .177 when he went to Toledo in late July. He returned a month later and ended up hitting a respectable .278 the rest of the way.
"I have to go down and get it going," Raburn told reporters. "I know I can help this ball club."
In the meantime, Leyland said that Ramon Santiago and Danny Worth will split the duties at second base in Raburn's absence.
The Tigers purchased the contract of catcher Omir Santos from Toledo to replace Raburn on the 25-man roster. Santos hit .310 with seven doubles, a triple and nine RBI in 27 games with the Mud Hens.
