The Detroit Tigers have placed center fielder Parker Meadows on the 10-day injured list with a broken left arm, a concussion and five stitches on the right side of his mouth after a collision in the outfield.
The 26-year-old is expected to miss significant time, with no timetable for his return.
Meadows will be evaluated by a specialist to determine the extent of the broken arm, diagnosed as a left radius fracture near his wrist.
“We don’t know if anything more is going to be required – surgery or anything like that,” manager A.J. Hinch said Friday, April 10, before the opener of a three-game series against the Miami Marlins at Comerica Park. “He needs multiple appointments to figure out what’s next for him, but he has a long road to recovery.”
To replace him, the Tigers promoted outfielder Wenceel Pérez from Triple-A Toledo.
Pérez, a switch-hitter, was the final position player cut from Opening Day roster consideration at the end of spring training, as the Tigers chose Meadows over Pérez upon selecting top prospect Kevin McGonigle. The 26-year-old hit .250 with two home runs, seven walks and seven strikeouts in 10 games for the Mud Hens.
The injury to Meadows occurred in Thursday’s 3-1 loss to the Minnesota Twins at Target Field, when he collided with left fielder Riley Greene. He was taken to a local hospital and remained overnight in Minneapolis. His wife, Hailey, has been with him in the Twin Cities.
Meadows will return to Detroit in the coming days.
“We’ll see timeline-wise based on the next evaluation,” Hinch said, “but I would hope that we get him back.”
Before the injury, Meadows had been the Tigers’ everyday center fielder.
In 2026, Meadows is hitting .250 with two walks and 10 strikeouts in 12 games, posting a .641 OPS and plus-1 defensive runs saved. He was limited to 58 games in 2025 because of a musculocutaneous nerve issue in his right arm and a quad strain in his right leg.
“He really was a stable part of our every day, especially against right-handed pitching,” Hinch said. “For him to suffer another set of injuries on a play, it’s so unfortunate for him, and I feel for him. Unfortunately, it’s not one thing or two things – it’s three things that he has to deal with. This game is not always fair.”
Without Meadows, the Tigers are prepared to rely on Javier Báez for most of the playing time in center field, with Pérez and Matt Vierling also in the mix.
McGonigle will handle shortstop when Báez shifts to center.
In 2025, the Tigers turned to Báez as their primary center fielder when injuries sidelined Meadows. He recorded plus-2 defensive runs saved in 405 innings and was elected by fans to start in center in the All-Star Game.
“It will be a timeshare,” Hinch said, referencing the plan for center. “We’ll start hitting some balls to Zach McKinstry in case something in-game leads me towards that. I would say more of the three guys – Javy, Wenceel and Matty V – will get the time out there.”
For Friday’s game, Báez was selected to start in center and McGonigle started at shortstop.
Don’t expect to see Meadows for a while.
On a positive note, Greene avoided injury in the collision with Meadows in left-center. He finished Thursday’s game and was back in the lineup for Friday’s game.
“I think Riley was shook up more about his boy and one of his close friends being involved with him,” Hinch said. “He came out of it unscathed. We’re fortunate in that regard because that could’ve been really nasty for both of them. These collisions are unforeseen.”
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Parker Meadows on Tigers injured list with broken arm, concussion
Reporting by Evan Petzold, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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