Detroit Tigers Young Outfielder Named 'Lock' for Opening Day Roster Spot
The Detroit Tigers have had some injury problems in the outfield during spring training, and that has muddied the waters in regards to who will start in center field.
With both Parker Meadows and Matt Vierling set to miss opening day, the reins were handed down to the next in line, Wenceel Pérez.
The young outfielder has now been named a lock for the Opening Day roster, as was reported by Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press (subscription required). He will likely end up being the starting center fielder when that day comes.
Petzold notes that the potential for him to be a leadoff hitter is there as well, which was the case during Saturday's game after he received a cortisone injection to clear up nagging pain.
"It can be good for me, a good opportunity, I've been working in center field, taking a lot of reps. I feel confident there. I told Parker I will take care of center field until he comes back," Pérez said.
This news might come as a bit of a surprise since he has also been dealing with his own injury at various points this spring that has resulted in just 17 at-bats in spring training contests.
But it seems like the team is confident he'll be ready to go for Game 1.
Pérez made his MLB debut during the 2024 season and appeared in 112 total games for the Tigers at all three outfield positions.
He performed well both on offense and defense.
He had .242/.300/.383 slash line, 51 runs, 37 RBI, nine stolen bases and 92 strikeouts to 32 walks from the batter's box, while also producing 189 putouts, an assist and only two errors for a .990 fielding rate when standing in the grass.
That was very strong for a first-season outfielder at the MLB level, and hopefully a sign of things to come when he takes the field this year.
Detroit will hope to get a bit more out of his offensive consistency when he bats leadoff, but his fielding skillset allows him to be a net positive asset to the team regardless of how he performs with the bat in his hand.
At only 25 years old, he has plenty of good baseball ahead of him in his career, and with him already being given an Opening Day spot, hopefully he can finish spring training strong by putting his injury behind him so he can prepare to get the 2025 season started right.
