What Detroit Tigers will — and won't — do after losing three center fielders to injuries

Detroit Tigers outfielders Parker Meadows, Matt Vierling and Wenceel Pérez combined to start 141 of the 162 games in center field during the 2024 season.

All three outfielders are injured to start the 2025 season.

The three injuries: Meadows, the everyday center fielder, has a right musculocutaneous nerve issue; Vierling, the backup in center, has a right shoulder strain; Pérez, the third-stringer, has lower back inflammation.

The Tigers learned about Pérez's injury on Sunday afternoon.

"This isn't permanent," Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris said Monday evening. "These guys are going to be back. All three of our center fielders are going to be back and healthy and performing this season."

The Tigers don't have exact dates for any of them to return.

Meadows — the leadoff hitter against right-handed pitchers — will miss the first 54 games while on the 60-day injured list because he's not eligible to return until May 26. Pérez, a switch-hitter, will miss at least one month, likely sidelining him until late April. Vierling, who also plays third base, is expected to return before Meadows but possibly not until after Pérez.

"It's the hardest I've seen a single position get hit in spring training in my career," Harris said.

Detroit Tigers outfielders Matt Vierling Riley Greene and Parker Meadows celebrate their win over the Los Angeles Angels at Comerica Park on Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024 in Detroit.

Here's the problem: Opening Day is Thursday against the Los Angeles Dodgers, meaning the Tigers have two days to figure out their plan for center field. The Tigers are focused on internal solutions.

"We're going to use basically every minute we have to figure out the best strategy to help us win games," said Harris, who isn't planning for a significant trade.

Remember how Meadows (75 games), Vierling (45 games) and Pérez (21 games) combined to start 141 of 162 games in center field in 2024? The other 21 games were started by Riley Greene, an All-Star who was the everyday center fielder in 2022-23 but became the primary left fielder in 2024.

Greene is healthy.

However, the Tigers don't want to play Greene in center field, which requires more running than left field. The Tigers are trying to keep him healthy after injuries to his legs in each of the past two seasons, including a left fibula stress reaction in 2023 and a right hamstring strain in 2024.

Will the Tigers make Greene the No. 1 center fielder until one of the three center fielders returns? It doesn't sound like the Tigers will make that move.

"I don't think it really changes how we feel about Riley," Harris said. "Stepping back and addressing it from a higher-level perspective, when you go through injuries, it's always temping to run your healthy guys out there more often to compensate for your losses, but we have to resist the temptation to do that. If we run our healthy guys into the ground by playing them too much, we're only compounding our issues right now."

But Harris didn't completely close the door on Greene in center field.

"We expected Riley to play a lot in the corners," Harris said. "We expected him to play some center field. In light of this news, we have to go back to the drawing board and figure out what is the best strategy to help us win games, but that's a conversation we'll probably have when we get to Dodger Stadium."

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Aside from Greene, two other players are internal solutions in center field: Manuel Margot and Ryan Kreidler. Other players who could fit in center field include Javier Báez, Zach McKinstry and non-roster invitee Jahmai Jones.

Outfielder Akil Baddoo, a left-handed hitter who has started 75 games in center field during his 340-game MLB career, underwent right hand surgery on Feb. 20 to repair a broken bone. He is trending toward a rehab assignment in mid-April, meaning he might be ready to help the Tigers by late April.

The immediate internal answers are Margot and Kreidler.

"We have a number of internal solutions that we are working through right now," Harris said. "We also may have to adjust our strategy to win games until we get healthy. We may do some things differently on the field."

Oct 4, 2020; San Diego, CA, USA; Tampa Bay Rays center fielder Manuel Margot (13) looks on during workouts prior to the 2020 ALDS game against the New York Yankees at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

On Saturday, the Tigers optioned Kreidler to Triple-A Toledo, and the Milwaukee Brewers released Margot. By Sunday morning, Margot signed a one-year, $1.3 million contract with the Tigers, and by Monday evening, Kreidler was back with the Tigers as their starting center fielder for an exhibition game.

As for Margot, the Tigers signed him before Pérez's injury, envisioning him as a corner outfielder with occasional reps in center field. The 30-year-old has played at least 18 games in center field in each of the past five seasons, including 55 games in 2023, but he hasn't been a regular center fielder since 2019.

After the Pérez injury, Margot remains a fit in center field against left-handed pitchers, but the Tigers still need a solution for right-handed pitchers, especially if they're planning to prioritize top-tier defense in center field.

Maybe that's why Kreidler is back in the mix to make the Opening Day roster.

"As you guys know, Ryan is an elite defender," Harris said. "He makes our defense batter when he's on the field. Pitching and defense is going to be really important for us moving forward."

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.

Listen to our weekly Tigers show "Days of Roar" every Monday afternoon on demand at freep.com, Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at freep.com/podcasts.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers' Parker Meadows, Matt Vierling, Wenceel Perez injured

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