As first reported of Evan Petzold of Freep.com on X, the Detroit Tigers are expected to send down outfielder Parker Meadows to Toledo for utility man Ryan Vilade. Meadows, who has been solid defensively, hasn’t been able to solve his issues at the plate, is 3-for-23 with 11 strikeouts to just two walks. (.130/.231/.304)
Vilade among the regulars in Toledo has been hitting the hottest bat, batting .333/.398/.551 with an OPS of .949 in 78 at-bats. The advance data on Vilade does show he hits the ball hard, sporting a 44.4% hard hit rate so far in 2024. He can hit the ball to all fields and as Brandon Day mentioned on his piece on Vilade, while he’s played a few games in center field this season, he’s really a corner outfielder and could see time in either corner.
Ryan has played all over the diamond, seeing time in all three outfield spots, second base, third, and a start at first in 2024. He has seen just a cup of coffee, playing in games for the Rockies back in 2021. Vilade was recently with the Pirates farm system before the Tigers signed him in the off-season.
Just another web gem from Ryan Vilade. Nothing new.😤 pic.twitter.com/IT9nkD5eJX
— Indianapolis Indians (@indyindians) September 21, 2023
The move seems just a way to shake things up as Parker Meadows heads down to Toledo to get his timing back. Detroit has lost four in a row and the offense continues to be inconsistent. They are ranked 23rd in batting average at .223 and are 26th in slugging.
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