Detroit Tigers center fielder Parker Meadows was hospitalized on Thursday after a scary collision with right fielder Riley Greene. On Friday, the Tigers announced the next steps for the 26-year-old, whose star-crossed four-year career has been marred by various injuries. But the latest injury, or multiple injuries, may be the worst of Meadows’ brief time in the major leagues.
The collision happened in the eighth inning of a game in Minnesota against the Twins, when both Meadows and Greene chased down a short fly ball off the bat of Josh Bell in what became a 3-1 Tigers loss. Greene came up with the catch and emerged largely unscathed after a hard-charging Meadows ran right into him.
The teammates clashed heads, and Meadows was later diagnosed with a concussion, though in the team’s official announcement the severity of the concussion was not specified.
But the head injury was not the end of the problems for Meadows, and on Friday, before the Tigers were set to play the first of a three-game weekend series against the Miami Marlins, the Tigers announced the next steps for their 2018 second-round draft pick.
Other Injuries Suffered by Meadows in Collision
Whether Meadows remained in the Minneapolis hospital, where he was kept overnight for observation, or if he had been discharged by Friday afternoon was not yet clear about two hours before game time. There had been no public announcement that Meadows had been discharged.
According to the Tigers’ injury report on Friday, it would not be surprising if Meadows was kept in the hospital for at least another night. In addition to the concussion, the Tigers revealed, Meadows suffered a fractured radius in his left arm.
“A fracture of the distal radius occurs when the radius — one of the two long bones in the forearm — breaks close to the wrist,” according to the medical site OrthoInfo. “Distal radius fractures are very common. In fact, the radius is the most commonly broken bone in the arm.”
But the broken arm was also not the end of the list of injuries that Meadows suffered. He also needed five stitches on the inside of his left cheek because he bit his mouth in the collision, causing visible bleeding as he was taken off the field on a medical cart.
“We don’t know if anything more is going to be required — surgery or anything like that,” manager A.J. Hinch said before Friday’s game at Comerica Park, as quoted by Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press. “He needs multiple appointments to figure out what’s next for him, but he has a long road to recovery.”
Meadows Placed on Injured List
Not surprisingly, the Tigers also announced that they were placing Meadows on the injured list Friday. The official announcement said that Meadows was sent to the 10-day IL, but it was clear that he would miss considerably more than 10 days.
“The 26-year-old will miss significant time,” wrote Petzold in his Free Press report Friday. “The Tigers won’t have a timetable for his return until a specialist evaluates the extent of the broken arm, which has been diagnosed as a left radius fracture occurring near his wrist.”
The Tigers called up outfielder Wenceel Pérez from the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens to take Meadows’ roster spot. Pérez was immediately placed into the lineup in right field, batting eighth against the Marlins.
Tigers Announce Parker Meadows Injury Decision After Hospital Stay