How Tigers' unfortunate injury news on Wenceel Perez upends 2025 outfield picture

Forget "pitching chaos." For the Detroit Tigers, "outfield chaos" is going to be the name of the game in 2025.

With just three days to go until Opening Day, the Tigers learned that they would be down not one, not two, but three center fielders. Matt Vierling, the backup center fielder and third baseman, was the first domino to fall with a strained rotator cuff in his right shoulder. Then came everyday center fielder Park Meadows, whose musculocutaneous nerve issue landed him on the 60-day injured list. The final blow came on Monday, when third-stringer Wenceel Pérez was ruled out for at least a month with lower back inflammation.

The Tigers don't have exact recovery timelines for any of the three; but for now, they just need a body in center field on Thursday when they open the 2025 season against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

How Tigers' unfortunately injury news on Wenceel Perez upends their 2025 outfield picture

President of baseball operations Scott Harris isn't planning for a "significant trade," according to Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press. The Tigers will be focused on internal solutions as they try to figure out their plan over the next two days.

Primary left fielder Riley Greene will almost certainly be part of the solution. Greene was Detroit's everyday center fielder from 2022-23 and started 21 games at the position last season; but the Tigers are wary of the wear and tear that comes with the additional lift required in center field, and they want to keep Greene healthy after he suffered leg injuries in each of the past two seasons.

The Tigers signed Manuel Margot to a one-year, $1.3 million contract on Sunday – before Pérez's injury – and envisioned him primarily as a corner outfielder who might make the occasional start in center field. Now, he looks like their primary option at center against left-handed pitching.

Ryan Kreidler, whom the Tigers had optioned to Triple-A Toledo on Saturday, is now back in the mix to make the Opening Day roster. His bat isn't anything to get excited about, but he is an elite defender in center; and that might be enough for the Tigers to get by until they get back to full strength.

Other internal options include Zach McKinstry and Javier Báez, but they are also considered primary options to help fill the void left by Vierling at third base. Perhaps non-roster invitee Jahmai Jones breaks camp with the team? He's still lurking at Major League spring training, and if he can play center field, that might give him the edge over Justyn-Henry Malloy in the battle for the final Opening Day roster spot.

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