The New York Yankees are coming to town Friday to start a three-game series against the Detroit Tigers. But that's not what will make Friday so interesting for Tigers fans.

Friday is the day outfielder Austin Jackson is likely to return from the disabled list -- and the day the Tigers will have to make a roster move to make room for him.

Speedster Quintin Berry appeared to be a short-term fill-in for Jackson when the Tigers called him up last week. He entered the 2012 season having played four games at Triple-A and none in the majors in six professional seasons. His numbers at Toledo were pretty good but not earth-shattering. There was little reason to believe he would post the numbers that he has so far for the Tigers.

Of course, there is still little reason to believe that he can maintain excellent numbers over the long-term. He has a .267 average in seven seasons in the minors, with the majority of those games in Double-A. He has 568 strikeouts in 692 games in the minors. If he sticks with the Tigers, his numbers will level off. He will strike out about once per game. He will hit around .250. His OPS will be low.

But to this point, Berry has played excellent baseball. His speed -- which will always be there, even if his other numbers fade -- gives the Tigers something they lack. He can bunt his way on, steal a base or go first to third -- or first to home -- like no one else on the team. He really has been dynamic.

The day the Tigers called him up from Toledo, it was correct to assume that he would go back down when Jackson was ready. But Berry has played well enough to stay on the roster, and it seems more and more likely every day that Berry will stick around.

But at the expense of whom? Really, there are only three viable candidates:

Danny Worth:

This would be the easy answer. The Tigers could keep Berry, send Worth out and continue to use Ryan Raburn and Ramon Santiago at second. Worth is often used as a pinch-runner, but Berry is better suited to fill that role. Berry could also make occasional starts in the outfield and enter games late as a defensive replacement.

But the Tigers seem less likely to make the "easy" move this time around. Why? Because two players are having seasons that have become impossible to ignore.

Which leads us to our next candidate.

Don Kelly:

Kelly is a valuable utility guy who can play a slew of positions. He also is hitting .164 (10-for-81), does not have a single extra-base hit this season and has one hit in his past 24 at-bats.

A utility player hitting .164 with a .164 slugging percentage (Kelly in 2012) is not nearly as valuable as one who hits .245 with a .381 slugging percentage (Kelly in 2011). Those 2011 numbers won't get a player on an All-Star team, but they are acceptable for a guy who bats left-handed and can play basically everywhere on the field.

But Kelly isn't producing this season, and he could find himself on the outside looking in. The hurdle the Tigers might not want to try to cross is obvious: Kelly is out of minor league options. The Tigers would have to designate him for assignment, which would open him up to be picked up by any of the other 29 major league teams through the waiver process.

That's a risk the Tigers might not be willing to take, no matter how bad Kelly's numbers are.

Which leads us to our next candidate.

Ryan Raburn:

Tigers manager Jim Leyland used Raburn a lot early in the season. He struggled. After the Tigers waived Brandon Inge, Leyland basically named Raburn as the everyday second baseman in an attempt to get him going offensively. The move was also likely intended to build Raburn's confidence.

But it didn't lead to better results. Raburn continued to struggle.

On Monday, Leyland moved Raburn into the second spot in the batting order. He explained it as an effort to avoid having two left-handers at the top of the lineup in back-to-back spots. He also said it could provide a spark for Raburn.

Now, you might accuse me of trying to be Dr. Phil, but I believe this could be another effort to boost Raburn's confidence, to shake him out of the offensive funk he has been in all season.

Raburn is a notoriously slow starter, but he tends to finish strong. But his numbers this season are not even close to the poor first-half numbers he has posted in the past. Raburn is hitting .151 with a .215 on-base percentage and a .218 slugging percentage. That adds up to an OPS of .434.

(For comparison's sake, Alex Avila, who is hitting just .237 this season, has an OPS of .730.)

Raburn has a minor league option remaining, although he won't for much longer. He is nearing the amount of service time -- five years -- that would require the Tigers to get his consent to allow them to send him to the minors.

What does that all mean? It means the Tigers have given Raburn all the time they can.

My prediction: The Tigers will send Raburn to Toledo and hope that he can get back on track for a call-up later this season.

My opinion: The decision between Raburn and Kelly is a tough one, but Raburn is the right choice. Neither of them is producing, but if the Tigers want to be sure both of them stay in the organization, sending Raburn to Toledo is the only option.

Raburn can be a very productive player when he gets it going. The Tigers should send him to Toledo in hopes that he can get his head on straight and contribute offensively down the road.

Stay tuned. Friday is just three days away.

-- Follow Chris Iott on Twitter for updates on the Tigers.