Parker Meadows’ season-opening stint on the injured list looks like it will stretch into May, as Tigers manager A.J. Hinch told reporters (including The Athletic’s Cody Stavenhagen) that the outfielder will need four weeks of rest after undergoing a nerve conduction test. Meadows has been sidelined by an issue with the musculocutaneous nerve in his upper right arm, which has prevented him from throwing.
The problem has been bothering Meadows for the better part of the month, and the uncertain nature of nerve-related injuries had left the door open for a somewhat sudden recovery, since the nerve could technically “wake up” (to use Hinch’s parlance) at any point. However, the aftermath of this test has led to a firmer idea of how much time Meadows will miss in the near term, but the outfielder and the team will then wait and see about how well his right arm has responded.
Because the problem is limited to his right arm, Meadows can take part other limited baseball activities apart from throwing, Hinch said. This leads to some hope that Meadows could be able to return to action relatively quickly once he is finally cleared, but even in the best-case scenario of a clean bill of health in four weeks’ time, Meadows figures to need some ramp-up time in extended Spring Training and on a minor league rehab assignment. It seems like the Tigers will be placing Meadows on the 10-day IL, as a 60-day placement would mean that Meadows wouldn’t be able to play on the active roster until the end of May.
It’s a very unfortunate and frustrating situation for Meadows, an outstanding defensive player who seemed to turn the corner at the plate late last season. His 2024 season got off to a rough start between a cold stretch at the plate, a demotion to Triple-A Toledo, and then a month-long IL stint due to a hamstring injury as soon as Meadows was called back up to the big leagues. Once he got back from the IL, Meadows finally hit his stride, batting .296/.340/.500 over his final 201 plate appearances to help lead Detroit to a wild card berth.
Just as he had solidified his spot as an everyday center fielder, however, Meadows will now join Matt Vierling on the IL, leaving the Tigers thin in the outfield. The plan is to give Wenceel Perez the bulk of playing time in center field in Meadows’ absence, with utilityman Andy Ibanez, Zach McKinstry, and possibly minor league signing Jahmai Jones all helping fill the gaps around the diamond and on the bench. Detroit has also considered some less-conventional options like giving Javier Baez and Spencer Torkelson a few reps in the outfield, just to provide as much flexibility as possible.
