Detroit — The Tigers won’t stand still. We should all know this by now.
Before the game Wednesday, the club announced they had purchased the contract of outfielder Akil Baddoo from Triple-A Toledo and optioned third baseman Jace Jung.
The decision comes after Jung, just 5 for 53 in 18 games, had his most productive offensive game of the season Tuesday night (hit by pitch, single, two runs) against the Red Sox.
“It’s been tough going for Jace,” manager AJ Hinch said. “Last night was the most he’s contributed to a win and we’ve seen some progress on defense. Getting his bat going has been a challenge.
“Just finding that consistency, finding the right swing, finding the in-game adjustment. And he was continuing to dig himself into a deeper hole.”
The concern isn’t the quality of at-bats. He consistently has put up competitive, long-count at-bats, as reflected in his 13.2% walk rate. The concern is his swing. He’s not catching up to fastball (2 for 25).
“He’s got some work to do and we know he’ll do it,” Hinch said. “He’s all about working and competing and playing baseball. It just became more and more apparent to us that these adjustments were going to have be worked on in Triple A.”
The Tigers are in a stretch where they will face 20 right-handed starters in the next 22 games. They’d hoped to use this stretch to get the lefty-swinging Jung going.
But with Baddoo swinging a hot, left-handed bat at Toledo, they decided to reconfigure the roster. With Jung gone, Zach McKinstry will move back to the infield and play more at third base, along with right-handed hitting Andy Ibáñez.
Baddoo, who came to spring training as a non-roster invitee, wasn’t able to compete because of a hamate injury. He will be able rotated in at both left and right field, spelling Riley Greene and Kerry Carpenter.
“It’s great to get Akil here, smiling face, healthy,” Hinch said. “There is real opportunity for him to help us win and he’s earned it. It’s been a bit of a rough go for him from a health standpoint.
“But he’s been swinging the bat pretty well and getting added back to the (40-man) roster is a good step for him. I told him, he’s here because he can help us win. That’s all we’re going to ask, contribute something positive.”
Since the start of May, Baddoo has been sizzling, slashing .278/.316/.722 with a 1.036 OPS. He’s got seven home runs on the season.
“It means a lot,” Baddoo said of working his way back into the mix. “Just went down there in Triple A, took my at-bats and waiting for my name to be called. I was ready to go.”
Baddoo’s presence will allow Hinch to ease the load on Greene, Carpenter, McKinstry and others. Hinch indicated that with Baddoo aboard, he can give both Greene and Carpenter a day off during the upcoming trip to Toronto and St. Louis.
“The playing-time dilemma that we have, that hopefully will be getting tougher and tougher, is a good thing,” Hinch said. “It’s all geared toward keeping the guys fresh and at their best and it’s not a bad thing. It’s not an indictment on them.
“It’s a strategy to get the most out of our full roster.”
Meadows inching closer
You can count Parker Meadows among the multitudes who have been blown away by Javier Báez’s performance in center field.
“He’s incredible,” said Meadows, the Tigers’ regular center fielder who continues to make steady progress toward a rehab assignment. “I think he can make any position look easy. He’s awesome.”
Báez’s play in center has, in an odd way, helped ease some of Meadows’ angst as he battles through a nerve condition in his right arm.
“Seeing him out there, it makes you take a deep breath and relax a little bit,” Meadows said. “I can just get ready instead of trying to rush back. He’s obviously holding it down out there and that helps a lot.”
Meadows had a big day Wednesday. He passed his base-running tests, which was no surprise. But he also threw to bases from the outfield and reported no discomfort.
“It’s getting close,” he said when asked about a timeline for his 21-day rehab assignment. “I feel like I’ve moved at a good pace for this injury. This injury is weird, but I’m starting to be able to flex my bicep. The nerve is slowly turning on.
“I’ve had to learn patience. I’m just coming in every day and trying to get better.”
He’s just about cleared the physical hurdle. The mental hurdle still looms.
“There is a little mental side to it where you don’t want to fully go,” he said. “But I’d say I’m getting close. With any injury, there’s always that little mental break you have to get through. But there’s no pain.
“The next step is just to test it more and go from there.”
Meadows will accompany the Tigers to Toronto and St. Louis and continue his work with the big-league trainers and strength coaches.
“We have to get him out of the rehab mindset now and move into a big-league pregame where he can work as if he’s getting ready for a game,” Hinch said. “With increased intensity and increase in the number of eyeballs on him when the stadium is open.
“We will still have to do a ton of rehab. He’s not ready to go out yet. But hopefully that’s the next step.”
Around the horn
The Tigers posted double-digit runs Tuesday night for the sixth time this month. Six games of 10-plus runs in 13 days. No Tigers team has done that since 2016. Their 238 runs is third most in baseball and the most in 43 games by the Tigers since 1994.
…Entering Wednesday, their 16-5 home start was the best since 1984.
… Infielder Gage Workman, who was claimed in the Rule 5 draft by the Cubs, has been returned to the Tigers. He is expected to report to Triple-A Toledo.
chris.mccosky@detroitnews.com
@cmccosky
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