The Detroit Tigers still haven’t closed the door on Parker Meadows returning this season, but the calendar is doing its best to make the decision for them.
Meadows is working back in Lakeland after suffering a concussion, facial lacerations and a shattered radius in an outfield collision with Riley Greene on April 9. The head and facial injuries are no longer the problem. The arm is.
“He’s really been going through it,” manager AJ Hinch said.
Hinch said Meadows is steadily being pushed a little harder every few days, with the club testing how much he can handle. The progress is real, but incomplete.
“They are challenging him every couple of days to do a little more and a little more,” Hinch said. “He’s running, throwing, catching the ball.
But the swing had not been able to be full speed. It’s the top hand (left) and he’s not able to complete the full aggressive swing.
There are still some issues with that.”
That’s the barrier right now: Meadows can do a lot, but not everything. And without a full-speed swing, the Tigers aren’t ready to say he’s close.
“We haven’t run out of time, yet it feels like it’s been forever and we haven’t been able to push him forward and we’re closing in on September,” Hinch said. “And September is going to bring a lot of questions.
It is what it is. He’s not able to progress and there is concern about what the next six weeks are about.
“But we have six weeks. So we aren’t going to give up on the season for him.”
The Tigers also made a move with lefty reliever Brant Hurter, pulling him off his rehab assignment so they can get a better read on the mound issues he’s dealing with.
“We’re pulling him off to assess some of the mound issues he’s dealing with and get him through this step,” Hinch said. “We’re not shutting him down completely. But we need to keep him out of games until we’re sure he’s operating at 100%.”
Hurter has been out since May 23 while recovering from lumbar spine inflammation, and the rehab outings haven’t gone smoothly. His sinker has sat at 88-89 mph, and in four games with Triple-A Toledo he allowed 10 hits and eight runs, seven earned, in 3.1 innings.
“The rules are that he has to sit (out of games) for at least seven days,” Hinch said. “We don’t expect him to stop throwing or completely shut down. But we need to take a mini-step away from pitching this week and get him moving the way he’s supposed to be moving.”
There was better news on a few other injured Tigers. Riley Greene is expected back in Detroit on Monday to restart his rehab after dealing with a right hamstring strain, and he has been doing full baseball activity in Lakeland over the past week.
Kerry Carpenter, who is battling plantar fasciitis, is also continuing his rehab in Lakeland.
“He’s still not doing a ton of baseball activity,” Hinch said. “Hopefully this down time will be enough to clear this hurdle he’s been trying to clear.”
James Outman opened his rehab stint with Triple-A Toledo by going 0 for 4 in his first game back from a concussion.
Matt Vierling, out with a groin injury, is doing full baseball activity in Lakeland and is nearing a rehab assignment.
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