Tigers’ Kerry Carpenter Shares Strong Belief in Season Outlook for Detroit
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The last two seasons for the Detroit Tigers have been a whirlwind. After selling at the 2024 trade deadline to eventually make the playoffs, despite a 0.2% chance of doing so, followed by a 2025 collapse that was saved by an AL Wild Card Series win, Detroit is focused on 2026.
This offseason showcases the Tigers making moves in the right direction to be an aggressive franchise and to have real World Series aspirations. Reuniting with Justin Verlander, adding Framber Valdez and retaining Tarik Skubal, the pitching side of things feels on lock.
On the offensive side of things, Tigers slugger Kerry Carpenter has become a known threat in playoff baseball and Detroit's resident clutch gene hitter the last few years. After just missing the ALCS, Carpenter deems that this organization isn't too far off from reaching and achieving its end goal.
Carpenter's 2026 Outlook for Detroit
Joining Foul Territory on Monday, Carpenter revealed his thoughts on how this season could unfold for the Tigers.
"We're not that far away," Carpenter said. "We've come so close and it's just little things on the margins that are going to help us get there this time. Just believing that we can do it, going out, and trusting the work that we've put in in spring training."
Carpenter was the Tigers' best hitter in postseason action in 2025, hitting .281 at the plate with an OPS of .900, smashing two home runs, driving in six RBIs, walking six times, and striking out 11. He's become a known force in this Detroit lineup since arriving and getting an opportunity.
"I think this time around, if we have another opportunity in a Wild Card Series or DS, we've had the experience now and have been in those tough situations, and we've come out on the losing end twice. I think everybody is more confident now than we've ever been."
Carpenter doesn't hit free agency until 2029, meaning that the Tigers have this bat at their disposal until then. What will dictate the success of Detroit this year will be how many games Carpenter plays. He missed some time in 2025, and his absence was felt in the lineup.
This could be the year that the Tigers put it all together. They have the pitching staff to do so, they have young and strong hitters in Carpenter, Riley Greene, Spencer Torkelson, and even veterans in Gleyber Torres and potentially Austin Slater to help the cause.
If the outlook that Carpenter feels rings true, the Tigers need to showcase themselves from start to finish, perhaps bringing in the American League Central Division title to Detroit for the first time since 2014.
Dominic Minchella is a 2024 Eastern Michigan University graduate with a BA in Communications, Media, and Theatre Arts and a Journalism minor. He covers Major League Baseball for On SI and spends his free time watching games and sharing his insights.