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Detroit Tigers' Kerry Carpenter placed on injured list with lumbar spine inflammation
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- Detroit Tigers' Kerry Carpenter placed on injured list with lumbar spine inflammation
The Detroit Tigers are without their best hitter and don't know when they'll get him back in the lineup.
Outfielder Kerry Carpenter has been placed on the 10-day injured list Wednesday, retroactive to Monday, with lumbar spine inflammation, but there isn't a timetable for his return.
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The 26-year-old is hitting .283 with eight home runs, 11 walks and 38 strikeouts in 50 games. He is the fifth-best hitter in baseball against right-handed pitchers, with a 1.004 OPS.
"I don't know what the concern is yet," manager A.J. Hinch said.
Detroit Tigers outfielder Kerry Carpenter hits a home run in the first inning of the game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Comerica Park in Detroit on Saturday, May 25, 2024.
Carpenter would have been scratched from Tuesday's lineup if not for the rainout . The pain in his lower back flared up in Friday's game, but he played through the weekend even though the pain got worse Saturday and Sunday.
KERRY BONDS: Tigers' Kerry Carpenter is a great hitter, and now a reliable outfielder too
The pain was even worse Tuesday afternoon.
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"It wasn't very good," Carpenter said. "Going in there, trying to treat it as much as we could, but it ended up not being good to go."
He complete a series of medical tests Tuesday evening.
"Those tests came back that it was an immediate shutdown," Hinch said. "We'll cross our fingers, hold our breath, hope that it's minimal, but I just don't know."
Tigers right fielder Kerry Carpenter hits a home run against the Royals during the fourth inning of the Tigers' 8-3 loss on Monday, May 20, 2024, in Kansas City, Missouri.
Carpenter has a .914 OPS against all pitchers, which ranks 11th among 200 MLB players with at least 150 plate appearances this season. He is ahead of Bobby Witt Jr. , Bryce Harper and José Ramírez , among other superstars, on the leaderboard.
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His .290 isolated power ranks fifth among the same group of players, trailing only Aaron Judge (.343), Kyle Tucker (.333), Gunnar Henderson (.317) and Marcell Ozuna (.304).
Carpenter has a .333 batting average with five home runs in his past 16 games, from May 6-26. He launched home runs in back-to-back games Friday and Saturday while battling lower back pain.
Detroit Tigers center fielder Akil Baddoo touches the third base against Houston Astros third base Grae Kessinger (16) after batting a triple during the ninth inning at Comerica Park in Detroit on Sunday, May 12, 2024.
The Tigers replaced Carpenter, a left-handed hitter who demolishes right-handed pitchers, by recalling speedy outfielder Akil Baddoo from Triple-A Toledo.
"I told Akil, I think this runway can be pretty good," Hinch said. "It doesn't mean every single day. It doesn't mean every single righty. If you look at the at-bats that open up because Carp is out, those are everyday at-bats against right-handed pitching."
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Baddoo, who is making $1.55 million this season through the salary arbitration process , is hitting .253 with six home runs, 25 walks and 40 strikeouts in 40 games with the Mud Hens.
The 25-year-old received one plate appearance for the Tigers in the second week of May as part of a two-day stay in the big leagues. This time, Baddoo will get a longer opportunity.
"He doesn't have to be any different than he's been in Triple-A," Hinch said. "The adjustments he made in Triple-A with his hands, his direction, his (bat) path, all those are encouraging and produced the results in Triple-A that warranted this look, especially against right-handed pitching."
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Carpenter won't travel with the Tigers on the upcoming seven-game road trip to Boston and Texas . He is eligible to return from the injured list June 6, an off day that leads into a June 7 series opener against the Milwaukee Brewers , but it seems like he will need more time to recover and rehab.
For now, Carpenter has been told to rest.
"Just giving it some time," Carpenter said. "That's as far as I know at the moment."
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold .
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tigers' Kerry Carpenter on injured list with no timetable for return
