'He needs to play:' Tigers option Parker Meadows to Toledo, call up Ryan Vilade

Cleveland ― The plan was never for Parker Meadows to be a platoon player or another matchup tool for manager AJ Hinch to deploy strategically in games. The plan was for him to be the regular center fielder. But the more his hitting struggles deepened, the more he was being yo-yoed in an out of games.

It became a counterproductive spiral for Meadows and for the team. Thus, the Tigers optioned Meadows to Triple-A Toledo before the game Tuesday.

"We wanted to get Parker some regular playing time," Hinch said before the game Tuesday. "His time in general was getting cut. He wasn't playing as much. Even the games he did play, I was hitting for him. That's not the player or the role that we want him to be."

Meadows, 24, is hitting .096, 7 for 73, with 32 strikeouts in 85 plate appearances. He was missing a third of the pitches he swung at (33.5% whiff rate).

"This is more about the best interests for him and for us, short-term and long-term," Hinch said. "He needs to play. I thought his at-bats were trending a tick better in recent days, but it was going to be hard to catch up with the numbers."

The left-handed hitting Meadows won the starting center-field spot with an explosive spring (.679 slug with four home runs and a 1.072 OPS). But he started the season 2 for 36 and couldn’t climb out of the hole. Because of his elite defensive skills (his defensive run value as measured by Statcast is in the top 6 percentile in baseball), he was given a few extra weeks to show some signs of life at the plate.

But with the emergence of switch-hitting rookie Wenceel Perez, who has been productive offensively and shown he can be an adequate defender in right field and center field, the Tigers decided the time was right for Meadows to work things out in Triple-A.

"Wenceel was cutting into it and also just the way we're maneuvering the outfield around," Hinch said. "We're also going to be seeing a ton of left-handed pitching in the next 10-14 days. It was time for him to get some regular playing time and reset himself, get his timing back and be the player we expect him to be."

To take Meadows' roster spot, the selected the contract of 25-year-old Ryan Vilade, one of the hottest hitters in Triple A, from Toledo.

"He really hit his way to this opportunity," Hinch said. "He's been opening up a lot of eyes. He's made some swing changes, he's versatile and getting another right-handed bat is an advantage given how our schedule is starting to play out."

Vilade, who had a brief and hitless stint with the Colorado Rockies in 2021, made a positive impression this spring, coming to the Tigers as a non-roster invitee.

Playing all over the diamond ― including center field ― the right-handed hitting Vilade slashed .333/.398/.551 with eight doubles and three home runs for the Mud Hens. That includes a blazing 15-game stretch at the end of April where he hit .460/.500/.720.

Vilade was a second-round pick of the Rockies out of Stillwater (Oklahoma) High School and got a $1.4 million signing bonus. He's been a productive hitter at every level and yet, the Tigers are his third organization since 2022. The Rockies and Pirates didn’t see the power coming around.

The Tigers thought they could help him unlock it. And maybe they have. His .551 slugging percentage is the highest of his seven-year, minor league career.

"He's added a leg kick and that's made a big change for him," Hinch said. "That leg kick is one of the things we hope he brings and it translates here."

Perez and Matt Vierling are likely to get most of the reps in center field. Vilade, who started in right field Tuesday, also will be in the mix. Hinch also said the club continues to weigh the pros and cons of playing Riley Greene back in center field, but so far have opted to leave him in left field.

"We're going to have to mix and match and the defense isn't going to be the same," Hinch said. "Parker is probably the best defensive outfielder in our organization."

Hinch was asked if outfield prospect, and right-handed hitting, Justyn-Henry Malloy was part of the conversation to take Meadows' spot.

"We called up Vilade," Hinch said. "J-Hen is a little banged up. But we look at everybody and we talk about everybody. But especially with this role and what we envision for Vlade, he's going to move around (defensively) a lot more than anybody else would."

With third baseman Gio Urshela expected to start a rehab assignment as early as this weekend, Vilade's stay might not be too long.

The Tigers moved pitcher Sawyer Gipson-Long to the 60-day injured list to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for Vilade.

Tigers at Guardians

▶ First pitch: 1:10 p.m. Wednesday, Progressive Field, Cleveland

▶ TV/radio: Bally Sports Detroit, 97.1 FM

Scouting report

▶ RHP Reese Olson (0-4, 2.70), Tigers: He’s due some serious run support; overdue. The Tigers have scored just three runs while he’s been on the mound this season. But he keeps putting up zeroes. He blanked the Yankees on two hits over five innings in the Bronx last time out and he’s allowed two runs or less in five of his six starts.

▶ RHP Tanner Bibee (2-1, 4.46), Guardians: He’s coming off a rough start against the Angels where he gave up two homers and six runs in 5 innings. A couple of odd trends. Left-handed hitters are doing a lot of damage against him (.565 slug, .946 OPS, five of the six homers he’s allowed), even though his best pitch has been his changeup (hitters 3 for 26, 43% whiff rate). It could be he’s not getting to it enough – hitters are crushing his heater (.424 average, .712 slug).

chris.mccosky@detroitnews.com

@cmccosky