The Detroit Tigers are a virtual lock for the playoffs at the midway point of this season. But their job entering July is to turn a playoff team into a true pennant contender. The Tigers have done this organically so far, entering Wednesday with the best record in the American League at 54-33 but there are some players that haven’t carried their weight and could be replaced by a deadline acquisition.
One Tigers outfielder has spent this season bouncing in and out of the lineup but hasn’t been able to seize an everyday role. With the July 31 trade deadline approaching, his performance could put him on the chopping block and give him a one-way ticket back to Toledo.
Tigers OF Parker Meadows Has One Month to Save His Job
There were plenty of breakout players that helped Detroit reach the playoffs last season but Parker Meadows has been one of the team’s biggest disappointments. A former second-round pick by the Tigers in the 2018 MLB Draft, Meadows hit .244/.310/.433 with nine homers, 28 RBI and nine stolen bases in 82 games last season but he’s slumped to .188/.270/.313 with a pair of home runs, seven RBI and two stolen bases in 24 games this season.
Part of the struggles have been related to injury. Meadows suffered a musculocutaneous nerve injury in his upper right arm during Spring Training and missed the first 60 games of the season. The Tigers held the fort by putting Javier Báez in center field but Meadows returned to make his debut last month and hasn’t been able to get things going.
One of the biggest issues has been his exit velocity, which has dropped to a career-low 86.2 mph this season according to Baseball Savant. While he also has a promising 10.1% walk rate, he owns a 27% strikeout rate and a 32.1% whiff rate.
Swing-and-miss has always been a part of Meadows’s game with a 27% whiff rate last season. But while the Tigers will give the 25-year-old the time he needs to get up to speed, he may run out if he can’t figure things out before the trade deadline.
The Tigers are looking for a right handed bat and if an infielder such as Eugenio Suárez is the target, it could push Báez back to the outfield and Meadows into a reserve role. If Meadows really struggles, he could be sent to Triple-A to figure things out and would be in a race against the clock to join the team for the final push to the playoffs.