CHICAGO -- The first bullpen move of the Tigers' season came quickly, but it was planned. Left-hander Kyle Ryan was headed to the paternity leave list following Tuesday's rescheduled season opener against the White Sox, with Blaine Hardy recalled from Triple-A Toledo to take his place.
It's a move the Tigers knew was coming since last week, as Ryan and his wife, Courtney, await their first child. They live together just outside of Lakeland, Fla., so she remained back in Florida when the Tigers broke camp last week. Courtney was originally due to give birth a week or two ago but will undergo a cesarean section on Wednesday.
"They told me the process will be about 8-10 minutes," Ryan said, "but that it would be the longest 8-10 minutes of your life."
Ryan will fly back to Florida following Tuesday's game and rejoin the team in Detroit in time for Saturday's game against the Red Sox. By rule, players can remain on the paternity leave list for three days.
Hardy, who lost out to Ryan for the second lefty role in Detroit's bullpen out of camp, traveled with the Tigers to Chicago; he and his wife have an offseason home just north of the city in Evanston, Ill. Hardy was in the clubhouse on Tuesday morning to work out but had to leave shortly afterward.

"I kind of knew it was going to be hard to break with the team regardless of how my spring went," Hardy said. "It was a moral victory for me that I was finally able to get a good spring under my belt. It's a little frustrating not to break with the team, but I knew I was going to be up here at some point."
Quick hits:
• Right fielder J.D. Martinez had the cast removed from his sprained right foot on Monday, as scheduled, and underwent physical therapy, Ausmus said. How Martinez feels on Tuesday and Wednesday should give the Tigers a better idea about his timetable for recovery.
"They worked on it pretty good," Ausmus said.
• Right-hander Michael Fulmer has rejoined the Tigers in Chicago after throwing 80 pitches across three innings in a Minor League Spring Training game on Sunday at Tigertown. He remains on track to start the Tigers' home opener on Friday against the Red Sox.
"We kind of had fun with it more than anything, but it was a tune-up game for me," Fulmer said. "Honestly, it was probably the best I felt all spring."
• Omar Infante, who had an impressive Spring Training with the Tigers but didn't make the team, is expected to join Toledo at some point this week, though the Tigers haven't made any official move. The 35-year-old infielder had an opt-out clause in the Minor League contract he signed over the offseason but was open to staying in the organization if he couldn't find a Major League opportunity elsewhere. He'll likely sign a new Minor League deal with another opt-out clause.