Pérez added to long list of Tigers' injuries?

Just when the Tigers add a much-needed option in their injury-depleted center field, they lose another.

Moments after the Tigers formally announced the signing of Manuel Margot to a two-way contract, president of baseball operations Scott Harris announced that Wenceel Pérez – who had been expected to become Detroit’s Opening Day center fielder following injuries to Parker Meadows and Matt Vierling – will miss at least a month to address recurring lower back inflammation.

“He completed [Sunday’s] game, and after the game, reported that his back didn't feel right,” Harris said on a Zoom call with reporters. “As soon as we heard that after the game, we decided to leave him in Florida to get an MRI, a CT scan and a bone scan. Those scans revealed inflammation in his lower back. He is scheduled to get an injection later this week and will be out at least a month.”

Pérez missed nearly two weeks of Spring Training games with lower back tightness earlier this month. He returned to Grapefruit League action on March 15 and had seemingly been moving well in center. However, he has battled occasional lower back issues for the last couple of years, including on his way up the Tigers farm system.

The news is a gut punch to a team that entered Spring Training with lofty expectations coming off its first postseason berth in 10 years, but has had lessons in resiliency throughout camp:

• Meadows felt discomfort in his right biceps after the Tigers’ Grapefruit League opener on Feb. 22. He was diagnosed with a nerve issue in his upper right arm, in which his musculocutaneous nerve would not activate. He was advised a few days ago to rest his arm from throwing for at least four weeks, and will be out until at least late May after being placed on the 60-day injured list to open a roster spot for Margot.
• Vierling was diagnosed with a muscle strain in his right rotator cuff after his Grapefruit League debut on Feb. 23. He recently was cleared to ramp up his shoulder strengthening program and has started a hitting progression, but will still miss time once he essentially restarts a Spring Training buildup.

Pérez seemed to be the answer to the Tigers’ issues, a switch-hitter who primarily played right field last year but has the athleticism and instincts for center. With Pérez out, the Tigers are now down to Plan D, which they’ll spend the next couple of days figuring out.

“Listen, we have lost three center fielders and two starting pitchers in Spring Training,” Harris said. “That’s tough on any team. In fact, it’s the hardest I’ve seen a single position get hit in Spring Training in my career. So everything is on the table for us. We have a number of internal solutions that we are working through right now. We also may have to adjust our strategy to win games until we get healthy. We may do some things differently on the field.

“We have a really resilient group who has shown in the past that they can win in a bunch of different ways. We’re going to have to leverage that until we get healthy, but we still have a really talented group. Manny makes our group more talented.”

Though Harris said the Tigers envisioned Margot fitting more in the corners than in center when they signed him, his past as a plus defensive center fielder could make him part of the answer. So, too, could Riley Greene, though Harris cautioned against overplaying that option.

“When you go through injuries, it’s always tempting to run your healthy guys out there more often to compensate for your losses,” Harris said. “But we have to resist the temptation to do that.”

Then come the superutility options. Ryan Kreidler was optioned to Triple-A Toledo last week, but rejoined the team in San Francisco and started Monday. Javier Báez started in center field Saturday and had been expected to play there again in San Francisco before the Margot signing.

And of course, the Tigers could go back to the market like they did for Margot, who was in Brewers camp before exercising his opt-out rights and signing with Detroit. The Braves reassigned former Tiger and non-roster invite Jake Marisnick to their Minor League camp last week. Kevin Pillar is competing for a spot as a non-roster invite in Rangers camp. Alexander Canario is out of Minor League options as he battles for a spot on the Mets roster amidst his strong camp, though the 24-year-old has primarily been a corner outfielder in the Majors.

“I think we’re more focused on internal solutions right now for a couple reasons,” Harris said. “Since the day I got here, we have prioritized versatility. We prioritize versatility for these situations so that we can adapt to the adversity that we’re facing. We did a pretty good job of that last year. We’re going to have to leverage that to win games moving forward. …

“The other reason why I think an internal solution is more likely now is this is a really difficult time to make a significant trade. Every team is breaking camp right now and getting ready for Opening Day. We’re going to be exploring it, because we’re always exploring that. But we’re going to use basically every minute we have to figure out the best strategy for us to win games.”