Detroit Tigers Place Graduated Top Prospect on IL, Recall Struggling Outfielder

One of the Detroit Tigers youngsters has been moved to the injured list as they promote a former Major Leaguer of theirs who has struggled.

Jul 3, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Detroit Tigers outfielder Wenceel Perez (46) celebrates his solo home run against the Minnesota Twins as he rounds the bases during the third inning at Target Field / Nick Wosika-USA TODAY Sports

With the Detroit Tigers not having a whole lot to play for, this is a perfect time for the organization to get a good look at some of their young players and top prospects at the Major League level.

Heading into this offseason, the front office has to know where they need to make immediate upgrades if they want to put together a contending roster. The more experience their youngsters get down the stretch of this year, the more they can make a determination about who can help them make a playoff run in 2025.

It seemed like they had a good idea about one of their former top prospects.

Ranked No. 9 in the Tigers' farm system last season and No. 27 by Baseball America coming into this year, Wenceel Perez graduated from prospect status when he made his Major League debut on April 8 and maintained a roster spot.

The rookie has put together a very solid season, slashing .242/.298/.386 with nine homers and 32 RBI across 97 games.

Unfortunately, Perez will now miss some time during the final two months of the year after being placed on the 10-day injured list with a left oblique strain.

This seemed like something that would be coming when he left Friday night's contest early, but the fear is, he might have played his last game in 2024 if the diagnosis is anything worse than a Grade 1 strain.

The Tigers have announced the following roster moves:
• Placed INF/OF Wenceel Pérez on the 10-day injured list with a left oblique strain
• Recalled OF Akil Baddoo from Triple A Toledo

— Tigers PR (@DetroitTigersPR) August 10, 2024

As noted, they are recalling Akil Baddoo from Triple-A.

The last time he played in a Major League game was July 11. He has been riding the rollercoaster of getting called up and demoted throughout this campaign.

Baddoo was once seen as a bright spot for this Detroit group after he was selected third overall in the 2020 Rule 5 draft. During his rookie season he slashed .259/.330/.436 with 13 homers and 55 RBI across his 124 games.

Since that point, he has continued to falter.

The 25-year-old made the Opening Day roster in 2022, but was sent down to the minors after struggling. He has not been part of the opener the past two seasons.

He'll hope to get things back on track and prove he should be part of the mix going forward, but if Perez does have to miss the remainder of the year, that is a huge blow to the Tigers as they want to start evaluating their young players.