Kerry Carpenter’s left heel is still giving the Tigers trouble, and Sunday’s game in Kansas City brought another setback.
The Detroit right fielder left the 5-4 loss to the Royals after aggravating the bruised heel that has bothered him for the past week. Carpenter was in the lineup in right field and logged two plate appearances before Ben Malgeri took over in the field to begin the fifth inning.
Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said it is the same issue Carpenter has been managing during the six-game road trip that followed the All-Star break.
“He felt something in his last at-bat,” Hinch said Sunday. “So, he will get re-evaluated. I don’t have an update.”
Carpenter finished 0-for-2 with a pair of flyouts before exiting. Malgeri went 0-for-1, then Zach McKinstry pinch-hit for him in the eighth inning. McKinstry drew a walk but was thrown out trying to advance from first to third on a single.
The injury traces back to last Monday in Chicago, when Carpenter was lifted for a pinch-runner in the Tigers’ extra-inning win over the Cubs and realized something was wrong with his heel. He initially said it bothered him more while running than hitting, but Hinch said a swing during his fourth-inning at-bat caused the flare-up.
The bruise is on Carpenter’s left heel, which affects his plant leg when he swings. His load sends his weight back onto that foot, with his right foot off the ground as the pitch arrives.
On Wednesday, Carpenter said he believed the problem started with a change in cleats. He had worn an Under Armour model for seven years before switching to New Balance after the previous pair was discontinued.
“Under Armour stopped making the model I’ve worn the last seven years,” Carpenter told reporters before the Tigers played the Cubs on Wednesday, July 22. “So I switched to New Balance because those were the only ones that felt good on my feet.”
Carpenter said the cleats had an extra spike under the heel that may have made the bruise worse. The Tigers’ equipment staff removed that spike before Wednesday’s game.
The injury has come at a rough time for Carpenter, who has struggled at the plate in 2026. He is hitting .210 with 13 home runs and a .698 OPS in 80 games.
Since July 1, he is 6-for-50 with no home runs or RBIs, 14 strikeouts and only two walks. Baseball Reference lists him at minus-0.5 bWAR this season.
In Other News…
Mets Bullpen Rumors Just Got More Uncomfortable With Detroit Watching
As the trade deadline approaches, the Tigers are being linked to the kind of bullpen help that usually signals a team still thinking about October. According to USA Todays Bob Nightengale, Detroit is looking around for a late-inning reliever if it decides to make a postseason push rather than take the other path at the deadline, with the market already giving the club a few possible fits to monitor.
The timing matters because Detroit still has a decision to make, and the next stretch of games will help shape how aggressive it gets. If the Tigers do lean into buying, the bullpen is the obvious place to look, and the fact that rival relievers are already being discussed only adds to the sense that the front office is weighing more than one direction as the deadline nears.
Tigers Suddenly Face A Gleyber Torres Decision That Could Shape Everything
Gleyber Torres has been out of the Tigers lineup with injuries, but his absence has only sharpened the bigger question hanging over the front office. Detroit has a young roster taking shape around emerging talent, and with more departures likely on the horizon, the club has to decide whether Torres is a short-term piece to shop or a longer-term answer worth keeping in place.
The appeal of keeping him is easy to see. Torres has already shown the kind of on-base ability and positional versatility that can fit almost anywhere in a lineup, and he could even slide into more designated-hitter work if that helps preserve infield flexibility for the next wave of Tigers. He is under contract through 2026, so this is not a distant problem, and the price to lock him in would not be small. But for a team trying to balance present competitiveness with what comes next, it is exactly the sort of decision that can shape more than one season.
Rays Suddenly Linked To The Kind Of Deadline Move Fans Crave
The trade deadline always has a way of pulling the Rays into the center of the conversation, especially when theres a chance to chase a roster upgrade with real impact. Tampa Bay has never been shy about exploring the top end of the market, whether in free agency or on the trade front, and that history is part of why their name keeps surfacing whenever a premium arm might be available.
Detroit fans have already seen Tarik Skubal look like himself again after the elbow procedure, and his recent outing against Kansas City only added to the sense that he is back on track. If the Tigers ever decide to listen, the ripple effect would be immediate, and the Rays are one of the clubs expected to be in that mix as the deadline approaches.
Để lại một bình luận