BALTIMORE — After a scary collision in the outfield Tuesday night, the Detroit Tigers will place rookie Akil Baddoo on the seven-day concussion protocol injured list, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.
In the eighth inning, Anthony Santander drilled a fly ball between Baddoo, the left fielder, and Derek Hill, the center fielder. The players ran into each other — with Hill making the catch — and dropped to the warning track in pain.
Both players are expected to miss time with injuries, but the Tigers haven’t made an official announcement. It’s unclear how they will fill the voids in the outfield without Baddoo and Hill. As of Wednesday morning, Hill was still getting checked out by doctors in Baltimore for a rib injury.
“It was a ball hit probably in the perfect spot for both guys to be going full speed and both with a chance to catch it,” manager AJ Hinch said after Tuesday’s 9-4 win over the Baltimore Orioles. “You don’t see it a lot at this level, but when you see them, they’re nasty. Two big, physical athletes.”
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Baddoo, 22, is hitting .267 with 10 home runs, 45 RBIs, 31 walks and 89 strikeouts over 93 games, putting himself in the American League Rookie of the Year conversation. In the second inning Tuesday, he lined a triple — his sixth of the season — to left field for a 2-0 lead. It was his second extra-base hit against a left-handed pitcher, facing Orioles starter Keegan Akin.
He finished 1-for-3 with one RBI.
Evan Petzold is a sports reporter at the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold. Read more on the Detroit Tigers and sign up for our Tigers newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers to place Akil Baddoo on injured list for concussion