Tigers Place Kerry Carpenter On 10-Day IL, Select Gage Workman

The Tigers announced that outfielder Kerry Carpenter has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a left AC joint sprain.  Infielder Gage Workman‘s contract was selected from Triple-A to take Carpenter’s spot on the active roster, and Detroit cleared a 40-man roster spot for Workman by shifting Justin Verlander from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL.

The IL placement comes a day after Carpenter was removed early from the Tigers’ 5-1 loss to the Royals, as he ran into the wall in the first inning while a pursuing a Bobby Witt Jr. grounder into the right field that ended up going for an inside-the-park home run.  Carpenter remained in the game and singled in his only plate appearance, but was removed prior to the bottom of the third.

Carpenter is hitting .216/.299/.451 with six homers over 117 plate appearances, with an 105 wRC+ that is almost entirely fueled by his power.  Carpenter is still making a lot of hard contact, but there is suddenly a lot of swing-and-miss in his game — his 34.2% strikeout rate is far above the 24.6K% Carpenter posted over his four previous MLB seasons.

While the production has been inconsistent, Carpenter at least had been answering the bell for a Tigers team that has been racked by injuries.  Carpenter is now the the 15th player on Detroit’s IL, joining fellow position players Gleyber Torres, Javier Baez, Parker Meadows, and Trey Sweeney.

Wenceel Perez is the likeliest candidate to get most of the right field playing time in Carpenter’s absence, with Jahmai Jones and Zach McKinstry also in the mix.  Workman could also get some action on the grass, as he joins the lengthy list of multi-position types the Tigers have turned to as the club tries to fill all of its roster holes.

Workman made his MLB debut last season, posting a .485 OPS over 17 plate appearances (in 12 games) with the Cubs and White Sox.  A fourth-round pick for the Tigers in the 2020 draft, Workman was selected by the Cubs in the 2024 Rule 5 Draft, but after bouncing around to both Chicago teams, the Sox designated Workman for assignment and subsequently returned him to Detroit last May.

As such, Workman is now lined up to make his first big league appearance in a Tigers uniform.  He has been on a roll in Toledo, with a huge .358/.413/.590 slash line to show for his first 150 PA of the 2026 Triple-A season.  This breakout aside, Workman’s production in the minors has been more solid than outstanding, and his ability to play several positions can aid Detroit’s depth.  Workman has mostly played shortstop and third base, and has also gotten at least some action as a second baseman and in all three outfield slots.

Verlander was placed on the 15-day IL on April 1, and that start date carries over to his new stint on the 60-day.  The future Hall-of-Famer now can’t officially return to the Tigers’ rotation until May 31 at the earliest, but it already seemed like Verlander would be out until June as he continues to recover from hip inflammation.  Verlander tossed 38 pitches during a live batting-practice session yesterday, and both the right-hander and Tigers manager A.J. Hinch told reporters (including Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press) that more throwing sessions were needed before Verlander can begin a minor league rehab assignment.