Tigers' Parker Meadows could be barreling toward untimely fate as struggles persist

The Tigers were expected to get a huge boost when Parker Meadows came off of the IL on June 2, after he started the season on the IL with an upper arm nerve injury. Although Javy Báez actually looked like a natural in center field in the meantime, Meadows had an outstanding last few months of the 2024 season after a demotion and an injury, and fans were hopeful that we'd be able to see a little more of him this year.

However, although Meadows has been a relatively consistent presence in the Tigers' lineup since his return, his performance has been more than underwhelming. In 34 games, he's batting .191 with a .543 OPS, and his recent numbers don't show signs of improvement.

He started off well and went 2-for-4 with a double and triple in his season debut, but he's only had two more multi-hit games since then, and he's striking out at a 30.4% clip. He continues to be valuable on the base paths, but his defense has worsened despite a few flashy plays every now and then.

Now that Báez has proven himself as a capable center fielder and Matt Vierling is also back after an IL stint, Meadows could be seeing another demotion sometime this season if he doesn't shape up.

Parker Meadows could face another demotion if struggles with Tigers continue

Last year, Meadows was demoted on May 7 after batting a dismal .096 with a .443 OPS to start the season, and he wasn't called back up until July 5. He looked great in his first three games back, but then he went onto the IL and didn't return until August 3. But he batted .322 in August, then .273 in September with six homers and 23 RBI, so it seemed like the Triple-A reset really worked despite the unfortunate month-long absence on the IL.

The entire Tigers offense has been struggling as of late, but Meadows stands out as a particularly poor performer. The Tigers have gotten more willing to demote their top rookies and homegrown guys in the last few years, as evidenced by Spencer Torkelson and Meadows last year as well as Jace Jung and Trey Sweeney this year. If a couple weeks in the minors worked wonders for Meadows in 2024, then that could be in the cards for him again if his bat doesn't start working soon.