"Unless tentative plans change, Magglio Ordonez won't appear in a Tigers uniform until Monday, when the Tigers play a make-up game against the Rays at Comerica Park.

"That's the target point," manager Jim Leyland said Thursday before the Tigers beat the Mariners, 4-1, in the opener of a four-game series.

Ordonez is finishing up a rehabilitation stint at Triple A Toledo - he went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts Thursday - as he recovers from an aching left ankle that had to be surgically repaired following last July's fracture.

Leyland has been explicit about Ordonez's return to the Tigers: It will happen only if, in all parties' view, Ordonez is 100 percent. Leyland watched Ordonez hobble in and out of his lineup during the early weeks of the season and doesn't care to risk any further back-and-forths with a player who figures to return to his old No. 3 spot in the lineup.

Leyland also said: "Magglio's got to hit."

The words weren't ominous, but they acknowledged a reality about the Tigers' batting order and current roster.

It has been productive. Brennan Boesch, Casper Wells and Andy Dirks have filled in during Ordonez's hiatus and have played fairly splendidly - on offense and in the outfield. The speed differential also is significant when younger, faster outfielders are sprinting around the bases and hauling down drives to the outfield.

But speed and defense - and even the offense Leyland has been getting from his outfield colts - won't necessarily trump the edge a seasoned, savvy hitter like Ordonez could bring to the Tigers, especially down the stretch. "