Quintin

Berry

Berry took to Twitter, proclaiming the end of his playing career and the beginning of his coaching career, and announcing that he had taken a new job as the outfield and baserunning coordinator for the Brewers. The 33-year-old saw just 345 plate appearances in his big league career, slashing .262/.333/.364 with three homers, 33 RBI and 29 stolen bases.

Berry was signed to a minor league contract this offseason after batting .284 with a .383 on-base percentage and 42 stolen bases in 97 games last year in the Reds’ minor league system. The 27-year-old won’t crack the Tigers’ Opening Day roster, but he could see time in the majors later this summer.

Jackson hasn’t played since last Wednesday due to an abdominal strain and could be headed for the disabled list. The newly-promoted Quintin Berry will start in his place in center field Wednesday and bat leadoff.

He hurt himself when he slid home to score the winning run in Saturday’s game against the Reds. Quintin Berry is starting in right field and hitting second. Consider Boesch day-to-day.

Berry made a rare start against LHP David Price on Friday, and “might be moving into the Tigers’ outfield on a long-term basis.” Dirks has been sidelined for nearly a month due to right Achilles tendinitis, and has yet to be cleared for baseball activities.

It will be interesting to see how much playing time Dirks receives, as Quintin Berry has provided an occasional spark for the Tigers but is batting just .246/.310/.308 in the second half. Dirks was hitting .328/.379/.515 with four homers in 37 games before going on the DL back in late May, so he certainly deserves to see plenty of starts.

''There’s no question,” Leyland said. “He’s an extra player on the bench — maybe pinch-hitting to lead off an inning. Maybe pinch run.’' The Tigers will go with Jackson, Brennan Bosch, and Delmon Young as their starting outfield during interleague play. Andy Dirks (Achilles) is expected to be activated from the disabled list Friday.

Berry has certainly been better than Brennan Boesch this season, but since Boesch has heated up of late, Berry has been taking a seat with Andy Dirks back. Today’s start came in center with Austin Jackson getting a day off. That won’t happen often, so Berry should be regarded as a fourth outfielder right now.

“Nothing different from what the medical people predicted, which was a sigh of relief,” said Tigers manager Jim Leyland. Jackson will remain in Detroit over the weekend to rehab the injury and could meet up with the team in Boston early next week. It’s not clear if he’ll need a brief rehab stint, but it’s possible he could be ready as soon as he’s eligible next weekend against the Yankees. Quintin Berry and Don Kelly should share playing time in center field during his absence.

Berry led off the first inning with a triple off of lefty C.C. Sabathia and came around to score. He then doubled and scored his next trip to the dish. Berry is hitting a very impressive .364 with 11 runs scored and five steals in just 44 at-bats. With Andy Dirks dealing with injury issues, Berry may have an opening to remain in the lineup even after Austin Jackson’s return which makes him a very intriguing commodity in fantasy leagues.