DETROIT — Detroit Tigers center fielder Parker Meadows broke his left forearm and sustained a concussion during a head-to-head collision with teammate Riley Greene on Thursday at Minnesota as they converged on a fly ball in the eighth inning against the Twins.
Meadows was hospitalized overnight for observation and placed on the 10-day injured list Friday. The team said he also received five stitches for a cut on the right side of his mouth.
“We don’t know if anything more is going to be required, surgery or anything like that,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “He needs multiple appointments to figure out what’s next for him, but he has a long road to recovery.”
Greene made the catch, and Meadows landed on his back in a daze, barely moving with his hands pointed up and blood on his face. After a few minutes, Meadows was able to sit up. Medical personnel slowly helped him stand and move toward a cart that was waiting for him.
Detroit lost 3-1 to the Twins and was swept in the four-game series. The collision caused Meadows to bite the inside of his mouth, which led to the bleeding.
Josh Bell led off the eighth inning for Minnesota with a shallow fly to left-center that Greene appeared to be calling for as he and Meadows ran toward the ball. Meadows tried slowing up and backing off at the last second. But his face appeared to slam against Greene’s head, sending both players tumbling to the grass.
Meadows had started 11 of 13 games in center field for the Tigers this season. Matt Vierling made the other two starts. Meadows went 0 for 3 on Thursday and is batting .250 with two extra-base hits.
The 26-year-old Meadows, who was a second-round pick by the Tigers in the 2018 amateur draft, made his major league debut in 2023. He missed the first two months of last season with a nerve problem in his upper right arm. Then he missed more than a month with a shoulder injury and finished with a .215 average and a .621 OPS.
