Tigers put Andy Ibañez on the IL, summon outfielder Wenceel Perez from Toledo

Pittsburgh — Andy Ibañez made the last out of the Tigers' 7-1 loss to the Athletics on Sunday, ran hard down the line like he always does and then trotted back to the dugout.

You would have never known that he strained his left hamstring on that play. But he did.

"I didn't notice anything either," manager AJ Hinch said before the game Monday after the Tigers officially placed Ibañez on the 10-day injured list. "I got back in my office and (trainer) Ryne Eubanks let me know Andy was under evaluation."

Ibañez was examined Sunday night and again Monday morning and the Tigers, still hopeful that he'd check out clean, had a plane waiting to fly him to Pittsburgh. Instead, they arranged a flight to transport rookie outfielder Wenceel Perez from Iowa City to Pittsburgh. It is the first big-league call-up for Perez, who was not in the starting lineup Monday.

Perez, who has been in the organization since 2017, has slashed .253/.376/.494 with an .869 OPS in 43 games at Triple-A Toledo the last two years.

"He's a good player," Hinch said. "He's going to play primarily in the outfield and be a bat off the bench."

Two other players in Toledo who might've been in the call-up conversation — Ryan Kreidler and Eddys Leonard — are currently injured and unavailable. The Tigers are expected to release a minor-league injury update Tuesday.

"I don't think anything should take away from Wenceel's call-up," Hinch said. "We considered a lot of things and we felt Wenceel was the best option."

Perez, 24, is a switch-hitter and, as Hinch said, possibly the most aggressive base runner in the organization. Both were plusses for Hinch.

"The switch-hitting component was very interesting for us," Hinch said. "He's performed throughout the minor leagues. His ability to run the bases and his bat-to-ball skills and switch-hitter, is something I love having on the bench."

The Tigers moved Perez, who came up as a middle infielder, to outfield early in spring training. He was having great difficulty making short throws from second base to first base. He's also struggled some in the outfield. But his bat plays and right now, the Tigers could use an offensive boost.

He was expected to talk to the media after the game.

Perez was slugging .485 with a .782 OPS in eight games at Toledo this season. He’s got two doubles, two triples and a homer in 37 plate appearances.

With Ibañez out, Matt Vierling likely will get more time at third base, especially later in games. Gio Urshela, who has played exclusively at third base so far, could also get some work at second base.

Tigers at Pirates

▶ First pitch: 12:35 p.m. Tuesday, PNC Park, Pittsburgh

▶ TV/radio: Bally Sports Detroit/97.1 FM

Scouting report

▶ RHP Casey Mize (0-0, 6.23) Tigers: He gave up three runs in 4.1 innings in his season debut in New York, but his stuff played better than that stat line might indicate. A couple of walks and hit-batsman extended some innings and elevated his pitch count. But his four-seam fastball and especially his splitter were effective. The Mets were 1 for 7 with three strikeouts against the splitter.

▶ LHP Martin Perez (1-0, 2.45), Pirates: Crafty as ever, the 33-year-old in his 13^th big-league season has allowed just three runs with eight strikeouts in his first two starts. Right-handed hitters, which he faces most often, will see a steady diet of cutters, sinkers and changeups, everything under 90 mph, everything on the edges of the strike zone.

chris.mccosky@detroitnews.com

@cmccosky