Austin Meadows recalled from Toledo, Jeimer Candelario to the injured list

Well we have good news and bad news for you. The good news, is that outfielder Austin Meadows has been reinstated from the 10-day injured list after a rehab stint with the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens last week. The bad news, is that, as expected, third baseman Jeimer Candelario’s shoulder injury will require some time on the injured list.

Meadows hasn’t played since May 15th, sidelined by a case of vertigo following an inner ear issue. He was slashing .267/.362/.347 when he hit the injured list, with no home runs, though the on base percentage was good enough to post a 113 wRC+ to date. For a Tigers’ outfield that has been the worst group in baseball offensively, getting Meadows back in there should make a major difference, hopefully compounded soon by the arrival of top prospect Riley Greene, perhaps as early as the Tigers homestand this weekend.

As for Candelario, he hurt himself on Sunday diving for a hard hit ball down the third base line. The third baseman landed awkwardly on his left arm and couldn’t continue the play. He’s listed with a left shoulder subluxation — a partial dislocation — with an injured list stint retroactive to June 6.

Overall this is a plus for the Tigers at least temporarily, as the outfield has been atrocious, while Candelario hasn’t really gotten it going for any length of time at the plate. This should keep Harold Castro in the everyday lineup over the next two weeks, and he’s been one of the Tigers’ few hot hands to date. Candelario’s injury also avoids some of the tougher choices as to the 40-man roster, as no further move was necessary to add Meadows back into the lineup.

In other injury news, outfielder Akil Baddoo’s rehab assignment has ended and he’s been moved to Triple-A Toledo. Meanwhile, right-hander Matt Manning, who last started for the Tigers on April 16th, was scheduled to see a specialist on Monday, after finally admitting to shoulder soreness after an abortive attempt to rehab with the Toledo Mud Hens. It feels less than ideal that we haven’t gotten any word yet today, but hopefully something will drop on Manning’s status, as well as Casey Mize’s status, shortly.

Updated: This afternoon, after publication of the original article above, the Tigers announced that after seeing a specialist on Monday, Matt Manning is cleared to begin throwing. On the other hand, Casey Mize is still feeling discomfort, and will seek further medical opinions on his elbow. Yeah that’s not a good sign.

Finally, Eduardo Rodriguez will make a rehab start for the Toledo Mud Hens on Thursday. He’s unlikely to need more than two outings before returning to the Tigers. Robbie Grossman, Victor Reyes, Akil Baddoo, and Riley Greene will all be in the Mud Hens’ lineup tonight as the overall team health bar swings in the right direction finally.