Detroit Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said utilityman Wenceel Perez suffered an eye injury when a training band snapped off its hook and struck him just below the left eye in the team’s training room. Hinch described the situation as serious after a Tuesday accide
For Detroit’s Wenceel Perez, the hardest part of the injury wasn’t contact at the plate or collision on the bases. It was something that happened in a training room—one quick snap, then a blow just below the left eye.
Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said the accident occurred Tuesday when Perez was doing an exercise with a training band slung from a hook in the training room. Hinch told reporters Wednesday, June 17 in Houston that the band “snapped off the hook and hit him just below the left eye.”
Hinch said Perez was not at the ballpark Wednesday as the team prepared to evaluate the injury. “We have a battery of tests to check out his face, his eye. We’re pretty concerned about it.”
The Tigers’ concern is not limited to the immediate pain. Perez’s status comes at a time when his production at the plate has been difficult this season. He is batting .180 in 53 games.
The training-room setting adds another layer to the story: it’s an environment players typically associate with control and routine. not sudden impact. Hinch’s comments also echoed how quickly these mishaps can derail a season. He wouldn’t be the first player forced onto the injured list after a training-room incident—All-Star closer Mason Miller. then with the Athletics. suffered a fractured pinky in July 2024 when he pounded a padded table in the training room after a poor outing.
A sequence like this can be hard for teams to plan around. One day, a player is working through a drill; the next, tests are scheduled and the lineup has to adjust, even when the injury came from equipment rather than an opponent.
As Detroit works through the “battery of tests” Hinch referenced. the question facing the organization is straightforward: how serious is the damage to Perez’s eye—and what that means for his return to the field. For now, Wednesday’s absence keeps the focus on the medical evaluations set in motion after Tuesday’s accident.
Detroit Tigers Wenceel Perez A.J. Hinch eye injury training room accident MLB Houston Mason Miller injured list