Kerry Carpenter Nearing Return After Tigers Decision

The Detroit Tigers, at 21-34, find themselves sitting in last place of the American League Central division. This comes after a 2025 season which saw them push the Seattle Mariners to game five of the American League Division Series. The team is without many key players two months into the season, including Tarik Skubal, Justin Verlander and right fielder Kerry Carpenter.

Carpenter was placed on the 10-day injured list on May 10th with a left AC joint sprain after crashing into the right field wall at Kauffman Stadium the day prior.

The 28-year-old is one of Detroit's key offensive pieces in the middle of their lineup. Before being placed on the injured list, Carpenter was not playing to his standard. Slashing a decent .216/.299/.451 with six home runs and seventeen RBI in 37 games. In his career, his has a .264/.320/.502 slash line with 76 home runs in 403 games.

Carpenter took fly balls during live batting practice on May 26th. The following day he faced his teammate, right-hander Justin Verlander in a simulated game.

Kerry Carpenter first up against Justin Verlander in today's sim game. Good sign for Carp being ready to start a rehab assignment.

— Chris McCosky (@cmccosky) May 27, 2026

This is a great sign for the left-handed-hitting outfielder as this is the first time he had faced live pitching since being placed on the injured list. Carpenter is be nearing a minor league rehab assignment and could be back with the big league team by early June.

While Carpenter has yet to heat up at the plate, his bat back in the lineup would undoubtedly boost the Tigers struggling offense. As a team, Detroit is slashing .233/.315/.370, their .685 OPS ranks 25th in MLB.

Along with Carpenter, the offense is without outfielder Parker Meadows, shortstop Trey Sweeney, utility-man Javier Báez, and second basemen Gleyber Torres.

As well as all of their pitching injuries, the Tigers are quickly falling behind in both the division and Wild Card race. Since two-time Cy Young award winner Tarik Skubal was placed on the 15-day injured list with loose bodies in left elbow, the team entered an intense downward spiral. In their last 20 games, they have a record of 3-17. With Skubal becoming a free agent after this season and the team holding one of the worst records in MLB, the team is in line to be sellers at the trade deadline.

The Detroit Tigers face off against the Los Angeles Angels at 6:40 P.M. as they attempt to right the ship before June.

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This story was originally published May 27, 2026 at 4:59 PM.