DETROIT — Given how much he’d struggled this year with his balky ankle, I don’t think anyone was surprised when the Detroit Tigers sent veteran outfielder Magglio Ordonez to the 15-day disabled list on Friday.

Andy Dirks, who was hitting .328 at Triple-A Toledo, was recalled to fill Ordonez’s spot on the 25-man active roster.

And given how well the 25-year-old outfielder had played both in spring training — hitting .333 to force his way into the conversation for the final reserve outfield spot — as well as in his first extended tour of duty at Triple-A, it was no surprise that Dirks got the nod. An added bonus for the Tigers is that it gives then another guy capable of covering the territory in Comerica Park’s spacious center field, allowing Austin Jackson a day off without much of a defensive drop-off.

Ordonez has struggled with frequent soreness and inflammation in his surgically-repaired right ankle, the one that cost him the second half of last season. He’ll be referred back to Dr. Phillip Kwong of the Kerlan-Jobe Clinic in Los Angeles — who performed the surgery on Ordonez’s ankle on Aug. 25 — for further testing.

The move will be retroactive to Wednesday, making him eligible to come off the DL on May 25.