It appears the Tigers are making an early call to Toledo after dropping two of three last weekend to the lowly A's.
The club is calling up 24-year-old outfielder Wenceel Perez, as reported by the Dominican Republic outlet EL VARON Sport. Perez later reposted the report on his Instagram account, praising God (in Spanish) for bringing him "from Guachupita to here." The report stated (in Spanish) that Perez is being promoted to the major leagues by Detroit.
Perez was in Pittsburgh Monday afternoon with the Tigers, who are opening a two-game set with the Pirates. He was summoned to replace Andy Ibanez, who suffered an apparent injury over the weekend, but he is not in the starting lineup for Monday's game.
Perez is the Tigers' No. 20 prospect, per MLB Pipeline, which calls him an "increasingly selective hitter." He battled back issues last season, but enjoyed a late breakout at Triple-A Toledo where he posted an .890 OPS in 35 games. He has a .782 OPS in eight games for Toledo this year and also brings speed on the base paths.
While he was signed in 2016 as an infielder and played mostly shortstop and second base for his first several years in the Tigers' system, Perez spent lots of time in the outfield last season. He has played exclusively in the outfield this season and saw almost all of his spring training action for the Tigers in center.
