Tigers Slugger Kerry Carpenter Close to Returning From Injury As Team Struggles

The Detroit Tigers are ice-cold right now. It's spanned both before and after their return from the All-Star break, losing eight of their last nine games and struggling the most they have all season.

Still firmly in control of the division given the incredible first half they had, there is no reason to smash the panic button just yet. However, some things need to change.

As the trade deadline approaches next week, many have linked the Tigers to some huge moves to improve both the lineup and bullpen. Their biggest addition, though, might just be an internal one.

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A nagging hamstring injury for Detroit slugger Kerry Carpenter that he had been gutting through was aggravated at the start of this month and landed him on the injured list.

For what seemed like months, Carpenter had been playing at not 100% and the stint on the IL offered him a chance to sit down and get fully healthy.

As the injury reports got more and more optimistic about what the 27-year-old was able to do, he took the next major step towards coming back on Tuesday night by beginning his rehab assignment with the Toledo Mud Hens.

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It was a quiet night for Carpenter in his first rehab start until the eighth inning when he collected his first hit on a line drive out to center field.

Kerry Carpenter giving us all the good vibes (despite the score) with his first hit of the night 😌 pic.twitter.com/wzZKxYnay8
— Toledo Mud Hens (@MudHens) July 23, 2025

Finishing 1-for-4 with a strikeout and the single is not a remarkable stat line, but getting Carpenter back on the field as the team sputters is a sight for sore eyes.

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In 78 games this year, he has slashed .257/.285/.484 with 16 home runs and 32 RBI, numbers that slipped a bit as he played through the injury compared to the eye-popping marks he had through the first few months of the season.

According to A.J. Hinch, this is a multiple game assignment for Carpenter, which means he will not be back until this weekend at the earliest and more than likely next week.

While he still has a ways to go, it seems like Carpenter is close to making his return to a lineup that is missing his presence right now.

For more Tigers news, head over to Tigers On SI.