Under-the-radar injury at spring training could greatly affect Tigers in 2025

Although the Tigers' rookie position players were a huge part of Detroit's late-season success last year, some of their futures are still undecided. Trey Sweeney is expected to take on a somewhat regular role, platooning at shortstop with Javier Báez; Dillon Dingler will play backup catcher to Jake Rogers; and Jace Jung has sort of defaulted into third base considering Matt Vierling's injury, but there are a few others who don't have a permanent place yet.

Justyn-Henry Malloy and Wenceel Pérez are the biggest potential x-factors. Pérez was called up in April last year, and Malloy followed in early June to make them the two longest-tenured of all of the rookies. It's unclear where Malloy will get playing time (maybe the outfield corners, maybe first base) while Pérez figures to be part of the right field carousel.

However, Pérez has already been sidelined with lower back tightness in spring training, which caused him to sit out of eight straight games. Although he's scheduled to return on Wednesday against the Rays, it could be a problem for the Tigers and their already heavily injured outfield if the problem persists.

Wenceel Pérez's back issue could cause complications for Tigers down the line

The Tigers also seem to want to be more cautious with Pérez than he'd like. He told reporters that he would return to the lineup on Monday against the Yankees, but he didn't make the trip to Tampa, and then AJ Hinch said, "We'll get him in there, but he's got to pass a few tests. He's doing great, but he doesn't get to pick the day."

Parker Meadows, Matt Vierling, and Akil Baddoo are either iffy for Opening Day or ruled out for the roster altogether due to various injuries. This mostly affects center field, but Pérez also seems like a plausible option for center until one or more of them are healthy. If Pérez is also ruled out or isn't fully up to speed, then the Tigers could be left without even somewhat decent options to occupy that position.

Pérez is 1-for-14 with two walks at the plate in the five games he's appeared in so far, which is far from a good start. Getting him back into as many spring games left as he can manage could help him settle in more, but the Tigers also run the risk of exacerbating the issue that's already kept him out this long. Fans should quietly have their fingers crossed here.