DUNEDIN, Fla. >> Wenceel Perez’s institutional knowledge may have thwarted a long-term injury issue.

The Tigers’ 25-year-old outfielder knows a thing or two about lower back inflammation. It cost him most of 2022 and part of 2023. So, when he felt a familiar tightness in his back and a sense of weakness in his core muscles, he immediately went to the trainers.

“I know how my body works,” he said. “I know how I felt and I was telling the trainers about it. I might need a couple of days. I think I could play but I think it could get worse. If you can give me a couple of days I think it’s going to get better and we don’t risk anything long-term.”

Done and done

Perez was held out of games and baseball activities Wednesday, Thursday and Friday to let the inflammation in his lower back quiet down. Sure enough, by Saturday morning, he was back in the cage doing his hitting work. He is expected to return to the lineup Monday.

“There’s a lot of things going on,” he said. “Missing a couple of days feels like a month.”

Especially so, given the state of the Tigers’ outfield right now. Starting center fielder Parker Meadows (upper arm nerve issue) and backup center fielder and starting right fielder Matt Vierling (shoulder) are both out with injuries.

The switch-hitting Perez suddenly was getting the first-team reps in center.

“I feel great,” he said. “This time I stopped it right away. It was bothering me a little bit. I thought I could be playing but I knew it was going to get worse. I was able to sit for a few days and get stronger.”

Manager AJ Hinch applauded Perez for being proactive.

“The most important thing players can do is communicate,” he said. “They want so desperately to show well and play a lot and your instinct is to think every (soreness) is nothing and a lot of stuff is. These guys play through a ton of stuff. But this time of year, it’s nice to get on the front end of this type of stuff and use the schedule to our advantage.

“We have one of the best medical departments I’ve been around and we want him to use it. We feel good about where he’s at right now because of the early communication.”

Kahnle ready

Reliever Tommy Kahnle threw live to Jace Jung and Andy Ibanez on the back fields Friday, his last step before he makes his spring debut.

“Big changeup,” Ibanez said. “Big, big, big changeup.”

Kahnle, 35, has been purposefully slow-played this spring. His season ended in Game 7 of the World Series last year, Oct. 30. Both he and club agreed to start his ramp closer to the start of the season.

“He was good,” said Hinch, who watched the live session Friday. “It was just good to see him dial it up a little bit. You get more competitive the more things you do. We’ve slow-played this as much as we possibly can to build him up and create a good ramp for spring.

“The next step is in a game where it’s less controlled.”

That next step is expected to come early next week.

Around the horn

The Tigers officially placed right-hander Sawyer Gipson-Long on the 60-day injured list Saturday. That move corresponded with the signing of veteran right-hander Jose Urquidy.

Urquidy, who like Gipson-Long is rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, was subsequently placed on the 60-day IL, as well. The Tigers’ 40-man roster is at 39.

… Non-roster catcher Brian Serven has been shut down with an oblique strain. There is no timetable yet for his return to play.