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MLB doctor explains when Detroit Tigers' Parker Meadows could return from nerve issue
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- MLB doctor explains when Detroit Tigers' Parker Meadows could return from nerve issue
LAKELAND, Fla. — Detroit Tigers center fielder Parker Meadows suffered the injury on a ball hit to right-center field during the first game of spring training. He tracked it down, fielded it cleanly and executed a spin-and-throw to fire the ball back into the infield. On the throw, he felt a tweak in his biceps — first pain, then tingling, then numbness. After multiple MRIs, he was diagnosed with a right upper arm nerve issue . The pain is gone, and the tingling has subsided, but he still feels numbness on the top of his forearm.
There isn't a timetable for Meadows' return from the injury .
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Dr. Brian Schulz — an orthopedic surgeon at Cedars-Sinai Orthopedics in Los Angeles and the team physician for MLB's Los Angeles Angels and the NHL's Anaheim Ducks — didn't hesitate to pinpoint the likely nerve responsible for sidelining Meadows.
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"It sounds like it's probably his musculocutaneous nerve," said Schulz, who has worked for the Angels since November 2016 and the Ducks since September 2014. "That's the nerve that innervates the biceps and then also provides the sensory for the proximal forearm."
Detroit Tigers center fielder Parker Meadows catches a fly ball against the Philadelphia Phillies during the second inning of a Grapefruit League game at Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland, Fla. on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025.
The musculocutaneous nerve — if that's correct — apparently has forced the Tigers and Meadows into wait-and-see mode, as it hasn't been functioning for the past week and needs to reactivate before Meadows can return to baseball activities.
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"I have to wait until the nerve wants to wake up, which is very frustrating," Meadows said.
It could be a couple of days.
It could be a couple of weeks.
It could be a couple of months.
"The most important thing is, it's going to come back," Schulz said. "This isn't a permanent problem."
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The timeline for Meadows to return from the right upper arm nerve issue depends on when the nerve wakes up. The problem is there isn't an immediate or guaranteed method to stimulate it, which is why nobody knows when Meadows will play again. Meanwhile, the reactivation timeline for the nerve depends on the amount of inflammation and the individual.
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It's similar to hitting your funny bone.
"Sometimes, that hurts for a while," Schulz said, referencing the ulnar nerve — referred to as the funny bone — to help explain the uncertainty surrounding Meadows' nerve issue. "Sometimes, it hurts really quick, you get a jolt and it goes away. Everybody is going to be different in that aspect."
Nerves are unpredictable.
This isn't an impossible timeline to predict.
"It's just as likely to come back within a week or two as it could be like six weeks," Schulz said.
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For now, the Tigers are planning for Meadows to start in center field on Opening Day against the Los Angeles Dodgers , scheduled for March 27. However, if the nerve doesn't spark within the next 10 days, his status for Opening Day will be in jeopardy.
That's because he's losing muscle mass in his biceps while sidelined from baseball activities.
"It's where a lot of the guessing comes in," Schulz said. "If he comes back tomorrow, he can probably play within a couple of days. If he comes back six weeks from now, he may have to build a muscle back."
THE INJURY: Tigers' Parker Meadows shut down with arm nerve issue, no timetable for return
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Meadows — who received answers from nerve specialist Dr. Raj Singh in Scottsdale, Arizona — is putting his trust in the doctors and trainers who work for the Tigers. He is determined to do whatever he can to accelerate the return-to-play process, even if the timeline is out of his hands.
There isn't a lot the Tigers can do to help Meadows.
"It's not a very common injury," Schulz said. "I had it happen in a pitcher previously, where a lot of it is just a guessing game. What we'll do is treat it with anti-inflammatories to try and get the inflammation down in hopes that the nerve will recover quicker, but it really is a matter of time."
Detroit Tigers outfielder Parker Meadows bats during spring training at Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland, Fla. on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025.
The Tigers hope to get Meadows back as soon as possible.
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The 25-year-old entering his second MLB season is one of the most important players on the Tigers' roster, especially as their center fielder and leadoff hitter. The Tigers also posted a .653 winning percentage in games he started during the 2024 season.
The good news: Meadows is going to return at some point from the right upper arm nerve issue. The bad news: Nobody knows when that's going to happen.
"It's frustrating," Meadows said. "I was in a pretty rough spot mentally for a couple days, but it's part of it. This game, sometimes, it's going to try to break you, but I'm not going to let it."
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold .
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Nervy issue: Doc talks timeline for Parker Meadows return
