Detroit Tigers Star Outfielder's Mystery Injury Diagnosed As Nerve Issue

The Detroit Tigers got another dose of bad news in the injury department on Saturday morning.

Just a day after it was revealed utility man Matt Vierling is dealing with a rotator cuff issue which will force him to the injured list and ensure he is not available on Opening Day, manager A.J. Hinch told the media that center fielder Parker Meadows has a nerve issue in his throwing arm.

Unlike Vierling, Hinch did not directly rule out Meadows for the first regular season game of the year on March 27 against the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers, but he did not reveal a timetable either.

"We're going to wait and see," Hinch said via Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press (subscription required). "We got to get that nerve firing again for him to resume baseball activities. It could be short. It could linger a little bit. No one has a firm timeline on when that could be ... We feel like we're on a really good path now that we have the diagnosis and a treatment plan, but he is not doing baseball activities right now, and when that nerve starts firing in his upper arm, he can return to play."

Meadows suffered the injury during a Spring Training game against the Philadelphia Phillies on Feb. 22 on a turn and throw play. It was initially feared to have been something major, but the Tigers found out on Thursday he had avoided anything devastating, though they now know getting him back could be tricky.

Meadows played just 82 games in 2024 but was sensational down the stretch during Detroit's miracle run to the postseason. He was a major reason why they put it together both on offense and defense.

Slashing .296/.340/.500 in the second half of the year, four of Meadows' nine home runs on the season came in September alone.

More important than anything the 25-year-old did at the plate was the defense he provided at one of the most important positions on the field.

Meadows is among the best in the game in terms of outfield defenders, and this is the area where the Tigers would likely struggle most to replace him if he is in fact out for an extended period of time.

Detroit was simply better when he was on the field with a 54-28 record in games Meadows played.

Him missing time is the exact type of headline Tigers fans didn't want to see right now, but with still roughly three-and-a-half weeks until Opening Day, it's better to deal with an issue like this right now than in two weeks.

It sounds to be a wait and see kind of situation with Meadows, so for now that's all Detroit is going to be able to do as they hope to get their center fielder back sooner rather than later.

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