Kerry Carpenter's nagging right hamstring is sending him to the shelf. A.J. Hinch said Tuesday that the Tigers are placing Carpenter on the injured list to address an issue that's plagued him for the last month. The club will recall infielder Trey Sweeney to replace Carpenter's left-handed bat.
Hinch called it "a very cautious decision, given where we’re at on the calendar," with the Tigers set to play 12 games in 13 days before the All-Star Break. Carpenter, who has 16 homers on the season and was heating up again of late, should be ready to return on the other side of the break.
He aggravated the injury while legging out a triple in the Tigers' win over the Twins last Sunday and was lifted from the game.
"This is the second time that he’s had these sensations," said Hinch. "It’s very mild, he probably could play through it. We’ve had him play through it and he’s doing a bunch of testing, and he wants to keep trying to play through it, but it’s been less than its best and not at 100 percent. He had a funny feeling coming around second, so we will just take the decision away from him ... and re-asses as we go as to when he can get back to full go."
Hinch added that it's "really important" for Carpenter to clear the mental hurdle of knowing he can push his hamstring to the max when he needs to.
"You just don’t want that type of stuff on players’ minds where they feel like they can’t go right at 100 percent, and maybe he’s the tying or go-ahead run, maybe he’s gotta make a running catch in the gap," said Hinch. "So, second time, we need to get this right."
Carpenter has had a hard time staying healthy in his time with the Tigers, missing significant time in 2023 with a shoulder sprain and in 2024 with a lumbar spine stress fracture.
He also dealt with a injury to his left hamstring at the end of last season that limited him in the playoffs. That's the sort of scenario the Tigers are trying to avoid this time around, with a comfortable 11.5-game lead in the division in July.