Tigers Star Colt Keith Pulled From Game With Back Tightness

The Detroit Tigers could have yet another injury on their hands.

Sep 14, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; Detroit Tigers third baseman Colt Keith (33) throws out Miami Marlins’ Javier Sanoja in the seventh inning at first base at loanDepot Park. | Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

The Detroit Tigers have dealt with a number of injury issues over the course of this year, but as they head into the final games of the regular season, they are largely healthy with their ace Tarik Skubal narrowly avoiding a major issue.

During their Thursday afternoon matchup against the Cleveland Guardians, however, it seems the Tigers may have sustained a new ailment which would complicate matters heading into the playoffs. As first reported by Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic, Detroit took Colt Keith out of the game on Thursday with what appeared to be an injury.

Zach McKinstry was moved over to third base and Trey Sweeney was brought in to play shortstop. Stavenhagen later pointed out that Keith was grabbing his back at the end of the second inning, bringing into question whether or not he suffered an injury during a swing. After the initial speculation, Stavenhagen went on to report that the team confirmed lower back tightness for Keith. They are evaluating him further to determine the extent of the issue.

Colt Keith was grabbing his back coming off the field after the second inning https://t.co/1KM19QBrGF pic.twitter.com/WXlJPYuqNd

— Cody Stavenhagen (@CodyStavenhagen) September 18, 2025

After a revolving door at the position for most of the season -- and frankly going back to last year -- Keith has steadied the hot corner and brought to an end the constant new faces there day after day. Third was always going to be an issue after missing out on Alex Bregman this offseason, however, with Keith moving over there, that presented a better solution than the platoon of McKinstry and Andy Ibáñez, along with others being used.

If Keith is in fact out for any sort of extended period, that is going to be a major issue. Not only would losing the defensive stability he's brought to the hot corner impact how manager A.J. Hinch will deploy things, but they also will be losing a key part of their offense.

Keith Has Become Critical Piece of Detroit's Offense

Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Though the 24-year-old has been in a little bit of a slump lately, his overall body of work for the season is still very solid. Slashing .254/.332/.409 with 13 home runs and 44 RBI to collect a 1.6 bWAR through 136 games, Keith has shown flashes of brilliance and has taken a step in Year 2.

Replacing him would not be easy if that does in fact wind up being necessary. Of course, the hope will be that pulling him out of the game was simply precautionary, but Tigers fans will have to hold their breath as they await a more definitive update on his status.