Parker

Meadows

It’s theoretically possible Meadows returns this season, but he’s facing a lengthy absence after suffering a fractured arm on a collision with teammate Riley Greene last week. The 26-year-old outfielder was placed on the 60-day injured list over the weekend and won’t make it back until at leas the second half of the season.

Meadows hit the shelf last week with a fractured arm and a concussion following a collision with teammate Riley Greene. The 26-year-old center fielder is facing a lengthy absence. Javier Báez figures to see most of the reps in his place at least until top prospect Max Clark is ready.

Detroit Free-Press’ Evan Petzoid reports Meadows has no timetable for his return and “will miss significant time.” Javier Báez is taking over in center field on Friday. Meadows had gotten off to a .250/.308/.333 start with three stolen bases. He’s not a must-hold in shallow leagues with limited injured list spots.

Meadows suffered what looked to be a pretty significant concussion in a collision with teammate Riley Greene in the outfield during the eighth inning of Thursday’s loss to the Twins. He was disoriented and remained on the ground for several minutes afterwards before ultimately sitting up and being carted off the field. It sounds like a trip to the injured list could be in store here.

The two players were converging on a fly ball in the eighth inning and Meadows took the brunt of the hit, remaining on the ground for several minutes afterwards and bleeding from the mouth before being carted off of the field. It appeared as though his head collided with Greene and again hit the ground, so it sounds like he’ll need to be put through the concussion protocol before he’s able to return. The Tigers should provide an update on his status as soon as more information becomes available.

Meadows dinked a two-run single into shallow left field as part of a four-run rally against Nick Pivetta in the third inning. He also struck out and flew out to left field in the ballgame. Given how poorly he performed offensively during the spring, there’s pressure on Meadows to produce at the dish during the first weeks of the season or he could ultimately risk demotion to Triple-A Toledo. This was a nice first step toward doing so.

The Tigers still haven’t announced their position players, but barring an injury or a surprising decision to send down Kevin McGonigle, it looks like it’s Meadows and Wenceel Pérez for one spot, and though there’s been nothing to indicate an injury, Pérez hasn’t started a game since Tuesday. It seems like good news for Meadows, who is hitting .290/.389/.387 this month after opening the spring 1-for-14 in February.

The 26-year-old outfielder finally got the Tigers on the board in the fifth inning, smacking a two-run single off of Joshua Loeschorn. It’s been a very rough spring for him overall, hitting .133 (4-for-30) with no homers, two RBI and a stolen base. If he weren’t such an exceptional defender in center field, he’d likely be opening the season at Triple-A Toledo.

Parker Meadows went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts, and now both Tigers outfielders are sporting sub-.400 OPS this spring. If the Tigers opt to carry Kevin McGonigle, there’s probably going to be room for only one of Meadows and Pérez. Meadows has the clear edge defensively, which could be a difference-maker. Pérez hit a respectable .244/.308/.430 last year, but he fits a lot better in right field than in center.

If McGoningle secures a spot on the Opening Day roster, Petzold speculates that they’ll have to move on from one of Matt Vierling, Wenceel Pérez, Jahmai Jones, or Meadows. Meadows simply doesn’t give them the value off the bench that they’d like compared to Pérez and Jones. And, to boot, Meadows is hitting .059 with one walk and five strikeouts in six spring training games.