by Sports Xchange

--INF Michael Hollimon was outrighted to Class AAA Toledo. To fill the vacancy on the 40-man roster, the Tigers purchased the contract of RHP Jay Sborz, 24. Splitting time between three clubs in the Detroit farm system this year, Sborz was 2-2 with a 2.27 ERA in 17 relief appearances.

--RHP Rick Porcello was named Tigers' Rookie of the Year by the Detroit Sports Broadcasters' Association. Porcello, who won't be 21 until Dec. 27, led AL rookie pitchers with 14 wins, was seventh with a 3.96 ERA and 10th with 89 strikeouts.

--3B Brandon Inge underwent surgery Nov. 3 to repair patellar tendinitis in both knees, ailments that contributed to a poor second half this summer after a stellar campaign before the All-Star game. The Tigers said the procedure involved the debridement and repair of the patellar tendon in both knees. Inge will not be able to put weight on his knees for six weeks as he works on regaining full range of motion. Then he will begin a strength and rehabilitation program to prepare him for spring training and the 2010 season.

--CF Curtis Granderson has been named Marvin Miller Man of the Year by the MLB Players Association. The award is given to the player whose "on-field and off-field performance most inspires others to higher levels of achievement, by displaying as much passion to give back to others as he shows between the lines on the baseball diamond," according to the Players Association. Miller was the founding executive director of the Players Association. Granderson began the Grand Kids Foundation, which works to improve opportunities for inner-city youth in the areas of education and youth baseball. He is also a member of the Action Team national youth volunteer program, which encourages volunteerism in more than 150 high schools across the U.S.

--RF Magglio Ordonez saw his home runs, doubles and RBIs decline by more than 50 percent this season as part of a power slide that made him a platoon player for part of the season. Ordonez, who rebounded to hit .310 after batting .317 in 2008, saw his home runs decline from 21 to nine, his doubles fall from 54 to 24 and his RBI output skid to 50 from 103 on a year-to-year basis. His doubles total in 2008 was the most in the majors.

--INF Jeff Larish, whose season was cut short by a right wrist that required surgery, is expected to begin swinging a bat again in December and should be ready for spring training in February. Larish, 27, hit .216 with four home runs and seven RBIs in 32 games for the Tigers this season. He was sent back to Toledo early in the season, and his wrist began bothering him at mid-year.

--OF Ryan Raburn won't have to worry about a job with Detroit in the spring, a departure from this past March. "He will come into spring training knowing he's on the team," manager Jim Leyland said recently of Raburn, 28. Raburn was left behind last spring but called up in April and hit .291 with 16 home runs and 45 RBIs in 113 games. He became a regular against left-handed pitching and belted 12 of his home runs off southpaws in 133 at-bats. "He's going to be a very, very valuable part of our club," Leyland said. "We'll keep him away from the infield. We'll just have him work hard in the outfield in spring training at all three positions."

BY THE NUMBERS: 50 percent -- Minimum rate of decline of RF Magglio Ordonez's power numbers -- home runs, RBIs and doubles -- in 2009 from what he posted in 2008.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "You can have a philosophy, and we can talk until we're blue in the face and tell somebody how to do something, and sometimes they just can't do it. There is a great deal of difference between planning and executing, and all of the difficulty is with the latter." -- GM Dave Dombrowski, on the Tigers' lack of plate discipline through much of the season.