RHP Ryan Cusick was designated for assignment.
The Detroit Tigers position player group just got closer to being at full strength. On Monday afternoon, they announced that center fielder Parker Meadows has been activated off the 60-day injured list. Justyn-Henry Malloy has been optioned to Triple-A Toledo to open an active roster spot. Reliever RHP Ryan Cusick was designated for assignment to open a 40-man roster spot for Meadows.
It’s been a long wait. When Meadows first went down with a nerve issue in his right bicep right at the beginning of Grapefruit League play, the hope was that he might return in weeks rather than months. Instead, it required three months for Meadows to get back to the active roster. Of course, Matt Vierling was also expected back but re-aggravated his shoulder immediately upon returning to the club. His status remains uncertain, but otherwise the band is back together as far as the position player group is concerned.
Ryan Kreidler’s 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. Fortunately, Javier Báez was able to fill the void, and did so with fairly shocking aptitude for center field. It didn’t hurt that he also caught fire at the plate for about five weeks at the same time.
Meadows may still get some extra rest days as he works back into full-time duty, so perhaps Báez’s days as an outfielder are done. With Pérez on hand, and a weak left side of the infield, playing Báez at third base and shortstop seems like the likely path to his playing time going forward.
As for Justyn-Henry Malloy, it was nice to have his lefty mashing ability off the bench for a while, but he’s got to learn to handle better breaking stuff from right-handers before he can fulfill a large enough role to keep the 26th spot on the roster. His mediocre defense as a corner outfielder doesn’t help his cause either, but there’s enough potential in the bat that he should get plenty more time to try and round out his game.
As for Cusick, the Tigers just claimed him off waiver from the Athletics back on May 27. Hopefully the club made enough of an impression on him that he’ll be willing to stay assuming he clears waivers. He nearly made it through last time, so perhaps it will work that way again. Either way, he’s a project as a reliever and not particularly important either way.
Parker Meadows looked good in his rehab stint in Toledo. In 27 plate appearances he posted a 172 wRC+ and a .394 on-base percentage, hitting one home run a double, and two triples. While his offensive performance has been up and down in his first two partial seasons in the major leagues, the 25-year-old seems to have found his footing. Of course, most of his value is in his elite center field defense and the Tigers’ pitching staff will be very happy to see him back.
His return also opens up more options for manager AJ Hinch in the infield. With shortstop Trey Sweeney struggling somewhat at the plate, they can now insert Báez at shortstop or third base, along with Zach McKinstry and Andy Ibáñez, giving them a little more flexibility with center field back in safe hands. A four-game road series against the White Sox is a good time to experiment with those options, and should give Meadows plenty of hittable matchups to get his sea legs back against.