Kerry Carpenter is back, and do the Detroit Tigers ever need him.
The 25-year-old outfielder, who hadn’t played since the end of April, returned to the starting lineup Friday as the designated hitter against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Comerica Park.
He completed a nine-game rehab assignment with Triple-A Toledo.
“This is where I want to be,” Carpenter said before Friday’s game. “I was working hard the whole rehab process to get back here, so it’s fun to be back.”
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A right shoulder sprain — sustained while robbing a home run in right field — sidelined Carpenter for more than a month. He was cleared to throw to bases Tuesday and played one of his nine games in the outfield with the Mud Hens.
“I feel pretty good,” Carpenter said. “Hopefully, I get to play outfield one of these days. I don’t know. But I’m good to go.”
During his rehab assignment, Carpenter hit .171 with one double, one home run, five walks and 12 strikeouts in 40 plate appearances. He hit a 421-foot solo home run off right-hander Hagen Danner, from the Toronto Blue Jays’ organization, in the ninth inning of his second-to-last game.
The Tigers wanted Carpenter to focus on his process rather than his results.
“Those first couple at-bats were tough just getting timing back,” Carpenter said. “Once it turned the corner last weekend, I had good at-bats last weekend, and the two games earlier this week, I felt like I was ready.”
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Carpenter hit .217 with four home runs, five walks and 22 strikeouts in 20 games with the Tigers before his shoulder injury. He launched 36 homers in 2022, including six with the Tigers.
The Tigers have been struggling against right-handed pitchers, especially in their recent six-game road trip (and six-game losing streak) with Riley Greene on the injured list due to a stress reaction in his left fibula.
Carpenter, a left-handed slugger, hopes to provide positive production to the struggling offense.
“We’ve had a hard time putting things together,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “He’s coming off a stint on rehab where there was some good and also some acclimation getting back into it. It doesn’t need to go all on his shoulders. We need more than just Carp to get going.”
New rehab assignments
Right-hander Matt Manning (right foot fracture) is scheduled to start his rehab assignment Sunday with Toledo, while left-hander Tarik Skubal (left elbow strain) made his second rehab start Friday with High-A West Michigan.
Manning hasn’t pitched in an official game since April 11.
Both Manning and Skubal could return in early July.
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Outfielder Matt Vierling (low back soreness) began his rehab assignment Friday with Toledo. The 26-year-old appears to be the next player expected to return from the injured list.
Before the injury, Vierling hit .241 with four home runs, 11 walks and 36 strikeouts across 46 games.
Right-handed reliever Trey Wingenter (right biceps tendinitis) will start his rehab assignment Saturday with Low-A Lakeland. He hasn’t pitched in an official game since April 15.
Back to Toledo
The Tigers optioned infielder Tyler Nevin to Triple-A Toledo to create room for Carpenter on the 26-man roster. The 26-year-old hit a single with one out in the eighth inning Thursday to break up Zack Wheeler’s no-hitter.
But Nevin has struggled in the big leagues.
In two stints, Nevin is hitting .128 with one home run, three walks and 10 strikeouts in 16 games. He has performed better at the Triple-A level, hitting .331 with 10 walks and 21 strikeouts in 33 games.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold.