Tigers outfielder Wenceel Pérez has been dealing with back tightness throughout the spring. For a while, it seemed as though he would get over it and crack the Opening Day roster. But today, president of baseball operations Scott Harris told reporters that the outfielder will get an injection in his lower back and will miss at least one month. Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic was among those to pass along the news.
At the start of camp, Pérez seemed likely to start the season on optional assignment in Triple-A. However, a series of injuries to the Detroit outfield moved him up the depth chart. Matt Vierling has a rotator cuff strain in his right shoulder and will start the season on the injured list. Parker Meadows has been dealing with a more confounding injury to his musculocutaneous nerve in his upper right arm. The Tigers recently announced that he would be shut down for about four weeks.
Those injuries prompted the Tigers to sign Manuel Margot after he was released by the Brewers, having previously signed a minor league deal with the latter club. The Tigers made that signing official today and placed Meadows on the 60-day IL. That means he won’t be able to rejoin the big league club until late May.
In addition to prompting the Margot deal, it seemed as though the injuries would give Pérez a chance to break camp with the club. But the back tightness that has been ailing him throughout the spring couldn’t be shaken off. He’ll spend some time on the shelf after getting his injection and won’t be available for a few weeks.
The club will now have to figure out how to proceed without Vierling, Pérez or Meadows for now. Riley Greene is sure to be part of the solution, though it doesn’t sound as though making him the regular center fielder is a consideration. Per Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press, Greene will play center from time to time but is still likely to spend most of his playing time in the corners. That also seems to be the case for Margot, per Evan Woodbery of MLive Media Group.
Therefore, it seems like the primary corner guys might be Greene and Kerry Carpenter, who both hit left-handed. The right-handed Margot could perhaps help shield those two from tough lefties. As for center field, while Greene and Margot might factor in a bit, it seems Ryan Kreidler could be a key part of the solution.
Kreidler was optioned to Toledo two days ago but he has rejoined the big league club as the Tigers play the Giants in San Francisco tonight and tomorrow. “Ryan is an elite defender,” Harris said, per Petzold. “He makes our defense better when he’s on the field. Pitching and defense is going to be really important for us moving forward.”
The 27-year-old Kreidler has a line of just .147/.212/.193 in his 167 major league plate appearances but he has a much better line of .236/.342/.416 across the minors over the past four years. He’s done that while playing the outfield as well as the three infield positions to the left of first base.
It’s also possible that further solutions will come from outside the organization. As mentioned, the Tigers just scooped up Margot after he was released by the Brewers. Several others have been cut recently and more guys will shake loose in the coming days as all clubs set their rosters prior to Opening Day.
Cal Stevenson, you are a Detroit Tiger!
What did he ever do to you?
Be a trade asset 🙂
Just call up Gage Workman
The Cubs snagged Workman in the Rule 5 draft. He’s not even in the Tigers organization anymore.
I know.. another Scottie Harris blunder.
How can it be labeled as a blunder when Workman hasn’t even proven himself in AAA?
Gage Workman is barely an improvement over Kreidler. Kreidler is definitely a better defender. It’s not even close. Sheesh, man. Don’t you even look at these guys?
Maybe you being negative Melchez is a good luck charm for the Tigers. It worked last year. Keep it up dude 😉
Perhaps, a trade?
With 2 spots left, we may get him back? Bujan would be awesome too? A trade for both?
Perhaps you’re an idiot, Stuperfife?
@6M Turner is not getting cut.
Kreidler couldn’t hit a ball if it were placed on a tee. Do you know how baseball is even played?
I’ve never seen a bigger slappy than than Motor City Beach Bum. Do you k ow why the Tigers don’t spend real money? It’s fans like you. Low baseball IQ. You come think every player on the team is great and every move the team makes is perfect. You keep waiting for prospects to come up through the system that barely produces everyday players. Just wait until next year right? Thanks for ruining baseball in Detroit. Hope you’re happy watching mediocre teams.
You’re right.
I AM AN IDIOT TO SUBSCRIBE TO A SITE WHERE THE OTHER USERS HURL ABUSE AT ME AND THE OTHER SUBSCRIBERS.
Wow, you are a match for your account name, BadMojo! But what’s worse, you’re seemedly describing yourself in the entire post. Project much? Jealous of MCBB actually knowing what he’s talking about and you wish you did? You make Stuperfife and STYMEEDONE look like geniuses as you’ve taken stupid to a new low level. Yep, you’re now the stupidest poster on this site! Congratulations!
Kreidler very quietly put together a nice second half of spring training. I’m guessing he hit .250. He hit 2 hr’s, drew a nice amount of walks and probably halved his strikeouts.
This is the same Kreidler we all saw hitting very well in AAA before he lost two seasons to injuries. This was his first healthy offseason in 3 years. He’s coming around.
I’m a Tigers fan and I muted MCBB a long time ago. Absolute dunce…
I’m no Homer for sure. The Tigers are my team, but when I see Harris miss opportunity after opportunity, it’s frustrating. Workman is no superstar… but he’s better than Kreidler. Kreidler should have been released and resigned. No one would have taken him. Workman should have been promoted. He can play SS, 3B, 2B, OF, has great speed. He has improved every year reducing the strike outs. He’s very close to being a major leaguer. The Tigers could use that.
Teams need guys like McKinstry and Ibanez and Kreidler… they just don’t need more than 1 of them. The Tigers have those guys starting.
You bring the insults upon yourself with the old “They should’ve hired the Stuperfife” act. I’ve told you for a while, it’s not funny, it never will be and you bring down the collective IQ of this comment section time after time and comment after comment. The shtick is so stale it’s black mold and toxic.
Greene, Carpenter, Meadows & Kieth didn’t come up thru the system?
We should go get Brian Reynolds from Pittsburgh. I’m just gunna get updates during the games and not watch because that’ll frustrate tf out of me. This offense is gunna be atrocious.
If you think losing Workman was a Harris blunder, then who should they have protected instead of Workman? You can only protect 40 players.
Losing players to the Rule 5 Draft is part of the game. The better the farm system, the more likely it is you are going to lose players. Multiple players.
Don’t believe that he’ll stick with the Cubs either. There’s about a 70% chance they return him.
There’s the answer to who goes when Margot signed. Made no sense they were sending down Tork or Malloy
Hopefully they noth make it over Kreidler. His hitting is terrible…Baez level bad! Greene, Baez and Margot splitting CF?
Still confused why it’s called “on optional assignment” if they start you at AAA to begin the season.
Because he has the option to go home and play Sim City
Kriedler is an excellent glove but man he can’t outhit my dead granny.
How’s her defense? Asking for a friend.
They’ve put Parker Meadows on the 60 day IL, Perez is out for a month and Vierling is going to be out for a while. Plus, Greene and Carpenter have each been on the IL three years in a row. Let’s hope those two can finally stay healthy.
Not to worry…if anything happens to Greene and Carenter…AJ will just pivot to his outfield chaos strategy
Here’s hoping his lack of MLB bat is due to inconsistent use when he has been up previously. He has shown he can run the bases and play defense. If he can hit .230+ he can be quite useful. Perhaps a Willi Castro type with a better glove. (Detroit version, not what he became in Minnesota)
And maybe you’ll become smar…..never mind, STYMEEDONE! What’s in your melon isn’t teachable.
Riley moving to center sucks. It’s an injury waiting to happen. Not sure what their plan is now. It sure isn’t Margot.
In the Evan Woodbury tweet that the article links to, it quotes Scott Harris as saying that Margot was signed prior to the Wenceel news to play mostly at the corners and only “a little bit” at CF. I wonder if this has changed now and Margot will be our primary CF or if more moves are on the way. I don’t see Riley moving back to CF… especially now.
The scary part is… I think there plan is Margot.
there? Try their.
Heh. Well caught, my friend.
“How do you feel about learning on the fly, Max?” Just kidding. They wouldn’t do that unless his spring was just nuts.
I haven’t seen much of Margot. I’ve heard of him, but his stats do not remotely suggest every day CF’er.
Ja Jones, to me, seems like the best, albeit, hardly overwhelming choice to play some OF.
Book it, Tiger fans. Vierling and Meadows are going to be gone a long time and will barely play, if at all, this year.
Sigh. Anyway…………
Stop muscle man weight lifting.
None of this would be a concern if only they had hired….
Stuperfife, stop, really, your act is getting stale.
I mute at least one idiotic troll per day. Try it!
Good for you Major League Baseball Fan! Would you like a cookie for your effort or an orange slice for your participation? Self serve, of course being that’s probably what you are. Narcissist!
I find it interesting that the author used “confounding” to describe Parker’s injury situation.
Suprising and/or confusing.
That same word can be used to describe the manner in which his brother Austin’s career ended.
Ugh ! Three big bats down. Time fore the super subs go pull it together. GO TIGERS !!!
Chit. I just realized, maybe something wants that kid to play.
Who knows? Maybe its just fate and he ends up being Superman……
It think THEY SHOULD GO FOR IT!
Campos also has CF experience
Quit while you’re behind, way behind Stuperfife.
We could be so far back by June 1st it may not matter. Too bad, because we have the pitching to be competitive
Greene put one in the water, so that was very cool.
Tork, back to back !
Dear, Tigers. Don’t follow the Blue Jays blueprint of building your roster. Defense and pitching only don’t seem to win all the games. You need some bats to score your pitchers some runs.
The Blue Jays did sign Santander.
I played about 25 innings in center at a Tiger fantasy camp held at Comerica. I’m 60 but really fast for my age. I’ll settle for less than Margot. “Put me in coach. I’m ready to play. Look at me, I can be in centerfield.”
It’s already been decided. They’re putting me in – First Class! It’s in the new CBA.
Man, that Stuperfife brain pan is an empty vessel. As Forrest Gump said “Stuoid is as stupid does!” I am thinking you need a lobotomy.
You’re right.
I AM STUPID TO SUBSCRIBE TO A SITE WHERE THE OTHER USERS HURL ABUSE AT ME AND THE OTHER SUBSCRIBERS.
I won’t subscribe… I have been banned so many times, I’d hate to have to pay to get banned.
I’ve been banned once….for telling the truth about lame posters like Stuperfife who is worse than a broken record. Seems like today is his day to whine about the “abuse” he brings upon himself with his “Should’ve hired the Stuperfife” nonsense. I also have pointed out how wrong STYMEEDONE is far more times than not, not knowing what he’s talking about a great majority of the time. I too, don’t waste my money just to get banned. Keep on keeping on, BobGibsonFan, maybe we’ll, in tandem, get these real trolls mentioned in this post, cleaned out of here, so intelligent baseball talk can happen more often.
Man, it seems like these guys are made of wet paper bags! Don’t play Greene in CF because he might get hurt? WTF is that? Same thing happening to the Tigers that happened with the Lions! Promise to start the season followed by nothing but injuries. Hopefully our bench guys get us through till they all come back!
They should try to get Brian Reynolds from Pittsburgh. He’s one of very few good hitters conceivably available. And this offense is atrocious as is.
I would rather see some AAAA Tiger outfielder than Margot. Put in Malgeri, let him bat 9th. He can play a solid CF. I think Tork would make a decent RFer… have him play right for a while. Outfield of Greene, Malgeri and Tork. Carp at DH… need his bat and for him to stay healthy. Infield of Keith, Torrez Sweeney and McKinstry (YUCK)! Catcher Rogers and Dingler (unless they decide to make a deal for Feduccia)
The pitching is good…. the hitting stinks. But we all knew that.
Tiger outfield looked awful vs the Giants last night. Margot, single handedly, lost that game butchering two tough, but definitely catchable balls in RF. Carpenter would have made each catch and he’s considered below average.
Margot has got to go. He looks fat and slow.
Kreidler looked fine in CF even as he had nothing but routine plays to make. Torkelson played a nice 1B. His defense looked good enough. He had a double and HR. Tork is going to be fine.
I’ll cut them some slack as the travel from Fla to SF was tough and even Margot, just being picked up from an AZ Spring training site could have caused some jet lag.
Still, with one guy, who is their 4th string option in the OF out in the OF every night, it’s going to be a long slog.
Greene in LF, Kreidler in CF and Carpenter in RF looks like the best defense to me.
Tork DH and Keith at 1st. Malloy as a bench piece, DH, a little 1st and maybe very little OF.
Margot looked dreadful. Again, maybe he’s just tired.
Either trade some pitching for Brian Reynolds or Have Clark learn on the fly.
I hope through it all, Kerry Carpenter becomes a non platooning full time OF and not just a platoon bat.
It’s more important for a C and a SS to field their positions well than hit. I don’t mind Ryan Kreidler, who’s downright great defensively, playing over a better hitter who’s just a good or average fielder.
Mickey Moniak will be a Tiger