{"id":101525,"date":"2025-06-03T21:07:41","date_gmt":"2025-06-04T01:07:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=101525"},"modified":"2025-06-03T21:07:48","modified_gmt":"2025-06-04T01:07:48","slug":"parker-meadows-returns-injury-creating-questions-tigers-lineup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2025\/06\/03\/parker-meadows-returns-injury-creating-questions-tigers-lineup\/","title":{"rendered":"Parker Meadows Returns From Injury; Creates Questions In Tigers&#8217; Lineup"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Detroit Tigers outfielder <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/m\/meadopa01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Parker Meadows<\/a> was sidelined for the first 60 games of the season after sustaining a nerve injury in his right arm during the first spring training game. Injuries have plagued Meadows during the early stages of his career. He missed a chunk of 2024 due to a hamstring injury that allowed him to play only 82 games. But now Parker Meadows returns for Detroit, hoping to make a positive impact on both sides of the ball.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">oh 22 where do i begin <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/vcJKOuTsBR\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/vcJKOuTsBR<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Detroit Tigers (@tigers) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/tigers\/status\/1929690248113512770?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">June 3, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h2>Parker Meadows Returns to Tigers Lineup<\/h2>\n<p>In his first game back in 2025, Meadows made an immediate impact, walking twice and hitting both a double and triple en route to a 13-1 win over the Chicago White Sox. It wasn&#8217;t just the offensive power that was back, the defense also shone, as Meadows made an incredible diving catch in center field to take extra bases away from <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/b\/beninan01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Andrew Benintendi<\/a> in the bottom of the first inning. Albeit in 82 games last season, Meadows had an Outs Above Average (OAA) of 7, which put him in the 92nd percentile for outfielders.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_101559\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-101559\" style=\"width: 363px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-101559\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/06\/USATSI_25886891_168400885_lowres-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"363\" height=\"242\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/06\/USATSI_25886891_168400885_lowres-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/06\/USATSI_25886891_168400885_lowres-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/06\/USATSI_25886891_168400885_lowres-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/06\/USATSI_25886891_168400885_lowres-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/06\/USATSI_25886891_168400885_lowres-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/06\/USATSI_25886891_168400885_lowres-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/06\/USATSI_25886891_168400885_lowres-1200x800.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 363px) 100vw, 363px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-101559\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Detroit Tigers\u2019 Parker Meadows watches a play against New York Yankees during the seventh inning at Comerica Park in Detroit on Wednesday, April 9, 2025.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3>What Does The New Lineup Look Like?<\/h3>\n<p>With a defensive guru and offensive bat in Meadows back in the lineup, the question now arises of who moves to a DH spot for the Tigers. <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/b\/baezja01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Javier B\u00e1ez<\/a> had a career resurgence in center field, but that won&#8217;t be an option for him anymore. <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/m\/mckinza01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Zach McKinstry<\/a> has been a Swiss army knife for the Tigers, playing all over the field, so his versatility gives <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/managers\/hincha.01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">A.J. Hinch<\/a> some options. McKinstry also has the highest WAR on the team for position players at 1.7. <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/c\/carpeke01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kerry Carpenter<\/a> feels like the odd man out, patrolling right field for most of this season. Carpenter ranks in the 22nd percentile for OAA with a -2, making him a liability in the field. The DH role might be the best for him, as he smacked three home runs last night, becoming the first Tiger to do so since <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/m\/martivi01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Victor Martinez<\/a> back in 2016.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Oh, I leave quite an impression<\/p>\n<p>Three homers to be exact \ud83c\udfb6 <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/QNq3qXmvPY\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/QNq3qXmvPY<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 MLB (@MLB) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MLB\/status\/1929711385874751545?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">June 3, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The fact that all three of these players can play the outfield gives Hinch some options to keep Parker Meadows healthy. The plan shouldn&#8217;t be to immediately start Meadows every day moving forward, so this allows for McKinstry to thrive both on the field and at the plate. Although Javy B\u00e1ez has cooled off these last few weeks, he has still shown the upside of his bat and defense throughout the early parts of the season.<\/p>\n<h3>The Future Ahead<\/h3>\n<p>When Meadows is in the lineup, he will most likely be in the leadoff spot, which gives the Tigers more depth throughout the lineup. While the Tigers still likely need to add another bat at the trade deadline, having Meadows back in the lineup is the equivalent of a smaller trade deadline acquisition. He had 27 extra-base hits in 82 games last season, including 9 home runs and 28 RBI.<\/p>\n<p>With the lineup already ranking within the top 15 in most offensive categories, Meadows only helps this team win more games offensively while not having to fully rely on the bullpen. The career years for McKinstry and <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/t\/torkesp01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Spencer Torkelson<\/a> make the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2025\/05\/29\/tigers-best-team-mlb-last-100-games\/\" target=\"_self\">Tigers<\/a> a much deeper team compared to last year, but only time will tell to see if these bats can stay consistent into October.<\/p>\n<p>Last year, A.J. Hinch and his staff had to rely on the pitching to get them through the Houston Astros in the Wild Card round, but this time, the offense may finally be able to help him out. <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/g\/greenri03.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Riley Greene<\/a>, Spencer Torkelson, and Parker Meadows need to step up if the Tigers want to have any chance of winning the pennant.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo Credit: \u00a9 Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Detroit Tigers outfielder Parker Meadows was sidelined for the first 60 games of the season after sustaining a nerve injury in his right arm during the first spring training game. Injuries have plagued Meadows during the early stages of his career. He missed a chunk of 2024 due to a hamstring injury that allowed him [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5547,"featured_media":101558,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11,2,1071,35],"tags":[3298,68,476,5910,69,28902,3682],"class_list":["post-101525","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tigers","category-featured","category-mlb","category-news","tag-aj-hinch","tag-baseball","tag-javier-baez","tag-kerry-carpenter","tag-mlb","tag-parker-meadows","tag-spencer-torkelson"],"modified_by":"Lewis Masella, Site Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101525","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5547"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101525"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101525\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":101561,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101525\/revisions\/101561"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/101558"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101525"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101525"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101525"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}