The Tigers announced that outfielder Wenceslau Perez was placed on the 10-day injured list due to a strain of the left oblique muscle. Outfielder Akil Baddoo was called up from Triple-A to take Perez’s place on the active roster.

A stint on the injured list seemed likely for Perez after he left last night’s game early due to soreness in his left abdominal area. The severity of the oblique strain is not yet known, but anything beyond a grade I strain could jeopardize the remainder of Perez’s rookie season.

Perez made his major league debut on April 8 and quickly became a regular in Detroit’s lineup. Perez has +3 Outs Above Average and +2 Defensive Runs Saved for his 574 innings as a right fielder, although the UZR/150 metric (-0.3) is less impressive. He began the year in a sort of timeshare in right field with Kerry Zimmerman And Mark CanhaPerez had more or less moved into the everyday role after Carpenter’s extended stay on the IL and Canha’s increased use as a first baseman and DH before the Tigers traded him to the Giants. Perez has also gotten a lot of playing time in center field, even his handwork in center field hasn’t been great.

At bat, Perez has hit .242/.298/.386 in 378 plate appearances, which works out to a 92 wRC+ in his first appearance as an MLB pitcher. The switch-hitter has roughly equal splits from both sides of the plate, and he hasn’t made much hard contact.

Despite the uninspiring numbers, Perez was used as the Tigers’ leadoff hitter for much of the season and usually took the first spot when Matt Vierling or Riley Greene was not the team’s first batter. Baddoo is expected to take over Perez’s role in the outfield and could get some first batting starts of his own down the stretch, as the 55-62 Tigers will favor younger talent down the stretch.