Detroit Tigers' Kerry Carpenter returns from back injury after missing more than 2 months

Kerry Carpenter is back.

The Detroit Tigers activated Carpenter, a power-hitting outfielder who hasn't played since May 26, from the injured list before Tuesday's game against the Seattle Mariners at Comerica Park. The 26-year-old has finally returned from a lumbar spine stress fracture that sidelined him for more than two months.

"I wish I didn't miss as much time as I did," Carpenter said, "but I think we did everything we possibly could to get back, and here we are. I feel happy with it."

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Carpenter, a left-handed hitter, will serve as the designated hitter in Tuesday's lineup.

"He's going to be a guy that I'm going to ramp into activity," manager A.J. Hinch said Tuesday on MLB Network Radio's "Power Alley," hosted by Mike Ferrin and Jim Duquette. "He's going to play a little bit of outfield. He's going to DH a lot. He had a really good rehab assignment. That'll be a big boost for us, even though he won't play every single day. I've got to be careful with getting him back into game shape, but we want to do that here since he's physically ready to go."

Before returning, Carpenter played in four of six games last week with Triple-A Toledo in a rehab assignment. The former 19th-round draft pick checked all the boxes to complete his rehab from the lower back injury. He finished 3-for-14 (.214) with one walk and five strikeouts with the Mud Hens, working two games in the outfield.

"My at-bats have been feeling pretty good," Carpenter said. "Even if the results weren't there, my at-bats felt great and my timing felt great. I think that might have been the kicker to bring me back."

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In 2024, Carpenter — who demolishes right-handed pitching — has a .283 batting average with eight home runs, 11 walks and 38 strikeouts across 50 games, posting a .914 OPS. He hit .333 with five homers and a 1.211 OPS in his last 16 games, from May 6-26.

"It was probably the best I've ever played in the big leagues," Carpenter said.

So far, the 2024 season has been the best of his three-year MLB career, aside from the back injury.

"Probably monitor it pretty closely," Carpenter said of his lower back. "At least right now, and in the next couple of weeks, I think I'll be close to just being regular again, really close. ... I was a little sore after playing outfield coming back, just being on my feet that much, but it felt good being out there anyways."

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Carpenter is hitting .310 with a 1.004 OPS against right-handed pitchers.

His OPS against righties ranks seventh among 303 hitters with at least 140 plate appearances in those matchups. On the leaderboard, Carpenter trails only Aaron Judge (1.149), Shohei Ohtani (1.105), Rafael Devers (1.078), Kyle Tucker (1.072), Juan Soto (1.031) and Bobby Witt Jr. (1.025).

The Tigers rank 26th in MLB for their production against right-handed pitchers, meaning Carpenter will provide a massive boost to the offense if he rakes like he did before the lower back injury.

"A lot of it is going to be figuring out what he can handle," Hinch said. "I don't know if he'll go back-to-back outfield days. A lot will depend on what we see from him. But we're going to utilize him the same way that we were prior to the injury and get him a lot of at-bats. ... We'll pay attention to how his body responds to playing more."

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.

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