As the trade deadline approaches, the belief is that the Tigers need to add a right-handed bat. They may have already done so. After homering from the right side for the second straight game in Detroit's win over the Pirates on Tuesday, switch-hitting Wenceel Perez beamed when asked to gauge his confidence level and said, "Oh my god, it's so high right now."
"I've been feeling much better now than I was at the beginning," he said. "I just try to feel it every day, and hit the ball every time I go up."
Since rejoining the Tigers after missing the first two months of the season with a back injury he suffered late in spring training, Perez has been the best hitter in their lineup. He owns a 1.057 OPS in 18 games, which ranks ninth in the majors over that stretch, between Aaron Judge and Pete Alonso. He's fourth over the same stretch in slugging percentage.
Perez was similarly hot when he arrived last season, before cooling off as the league adjusted to him. He finished the year with a .683 OPS, doing almost all of his damage from the left side of the plate. Difference now is, Perez looks dangerous from the right side. The 25-year-old has made an adjustment of his own.
"I pulled my front foot in a little to stay more inside to the ball, because I was opening a little too quickly," Perez said.
Perez is a natural right-handed hitter, but he posted a .594 OPS from the right side in his rookie season. He said that as a result of "trying to swing harder," he was opening up "so early that I was just hitting ground balls or rolling over on off-speed" pitches. Recently, he closed his stance slightly "to stay more stable and get my barrel in the zone and stay to the middle" of the field. He also moved back a bit in the box.
The adjustments are rather small. The returns, so far, are rather huge. It's too early to draw any conclusions, but suffice to say, "he's messing up some scouting reports who have him stronger from the left side," said A.J. Hinch. Perez has five extra-base hits in 14 plate appearances as a right-handed hitter this year, as many as he had in 96 plate appearances from the right side last year. Settling into pregame and pre-pitch routines has also paid off for Perez, who said he has "a better idea of what I'm doing now than what I was doing last year."
"He's always going to have the platoon advantage, which is the beauty of the switch-hitter," said Hinch. "He generally is going to face more righties just by sheer numbers, but he's showing that he can not only defend himself but contribute from the right side. That's encouraging."
Hinch calls Perez an "energy at-bat." He makes smart swing decisions, even when he jumps on pitches early in the count. On Tuesday, he drove an 0-2 fastball over the left-center field fence from the right side, then ripped an RBI triple on an 0-1 heater from the left side to put the Tigers ahead for good in their 7-3 win. Javy Baez, who stole the show with two homers, was asked about the boost Perez has provided the offense and said, "Oh man, he's a really good hitter."
"He takes almost every at-bat to 3-2 or to good pitches, and he really focuses on what we work on, what the plan is and what our coaches tell us to do," said Baez.
That level of preparation is no small thing on a meticulously detailed team. As Hinch will tell you, "the way we play, you gotta put in a lot of time and a lot of effort and be ready." And Perez has to do it from both sides of the plate, as the only switch-hitter on the Tigers' roster. You can see why Hinch likes him so much, on top of the twinkle in his eye and the "pop in that bat."
"He's going to make contact, which is huge, but he's hunting damage, which is encouraging as he's learning and trying to contribute in different ways," said Hinch. "It doesn't really matter where he hits. I've hit him at the top of the order, I've hit him in the middle now, he's hit toward the bottom. He's an energy at-bat, and the last couple games he's been a difference-maker."
If Perez can continue to contribute from the right side, the Tigers might have found a piece they're missing. They're also expecting righty Matt Vierling to return this month and help stabilize the left side of the infield. The outfield is crowded at the moment, but Perez is raking his way to more opportunities. He was slated to start against another lefty Wednesday night before the game was postponed.
Perez faced a postponement himself this year. It hasn't dampened his spirits, or his impact on the team. He homered on his first swing of the season, from the left side. From his natural side, he's coming back into his own.
