After 60 games, the Detroit Tigers announced that a key player in their run to the postseason last year has been activated from the 60-day injured list â right on time.
Actually, 25-year-old centerfielder Parker Meadows â the Tigers’ second-round draft pick in 2018 out of Grayson High School in Loganville, Georgia â was originally scheduled to return on May 26 from a musculocutaneous nerve injury he suffered on February 22, early in Spring Training.
The musculocutaneous nerve is a large nerve that runs through the upper arm and controls movement and feeling through the bicep and forearm.
Meadows, in just his third Major League season, has had a rough go of it so far in his brief career. Called up on August 21, 2023, Meadows appeared in just 37 games that season, scraping together a .699 OPS and .232 batting average.
Meadows’ Career Has Been a Rocky One So Far
When he opened what would become his official rookie season last year, Meadows had regressed from even the modest levels of his first call-up. With only seven hits in 70 at-bats â a horrific batting average of .100 â and an OPS of just .451 by the end of April, the Tigers optioned Meadows back to Triple-A Toledo on May 6, 2024.
Though Meadows was valued primarily for his centerfield defense â three defensive runs saved in his short 2023 stint â his deficiency at the plate was just too much.
But on his return to the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens , Meadows became a whole new hitter, smacking eight home runs in 51 games with an .883 OPS.
Unfortunately, when he returned to the big club in July 5, Meadows lasted only three games before going down with a right hamstring injury suffered while trying to steal a base.
Fighting through yet another setback, Meadows returned once again on August 3 â and he seemed to ignite a Tigers turnaround that took the team from a 53-59 record when Meadows got back in the lineup, nine games behind the Kansas City Royals for the third and final AL Wild Card spot, to .500 70-70 record one month later.
But Meadows and the Tigers were just getting started. They won 16 of their final 22 to finish with the second AL Wild Card as Meadows put up an .840 OPS with six home runs in the 47 games after he came back from the hamstring strain.
Return Should Stabilize the CF Position in Detroit
The nerve injury struck Meadows before his season even began in 2025, but this time the Tigers have fared well without him. Heading into Monday’s matchup with the White Sox in Chicago, the Tigers’ 39-21 record is the best in either league.
Despite a brief hiccup in late May when they dropped three straight to the Cleveland Guardians, Detroit can boast a 21-9 record in their last 30 games.
The seven players used in centerfield over the Tigers’ first 60 games have combined for a .744 OPS, 10th in MLB. The return of Meadows should stabilize the position, which was mainly held by 32-year-old converted shortstop Javier Baez who played in center for 32 of those 60 games.
“Ryan Kreidlerâs inability to hit made him an impossible fit for the major league roster. Wenceel Pérez was missing almost as long as Meadows and Vierling with a back issue,” wrote SB Nation Tigers correspondent Brandon day on Monday. “Fortunately, Javier Báez was able to fill the void, and did so with fairly shocking aptitude for center field. It didnât hurt that he also caught fire at the plate for about five weeks at the same time.”
Manager A.J Hinch immediately wrote Meadows into the leadoff spot, and put him in centerfield, for Monday night’s game in Chicago.
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