The Detroit Tigers placed outfielder Kerry Carpenter on the 10-day injured list Sunday due to a left shoulder sprain sustained during a collision with the sidewall in right field.
The injury occurred Saturday night when Carpenter crashed into the wall while chasing Bobby Witt Jr.’s inside-the-park home run in the Kansas City Royals’ 5-1 victory. Carpenter, 28, remained in the game after the first-inning homer but exited two innings later with a sprained AC joint.
“Initial tests have shown no structural damage, but he has inflammation,” manager A.J. Hinch said Sunday. “And he’s obviously really sore.”
In a corresponding move, the Tigers selected the contract of third baseman Gage Workman from Triple-A Toledo. To make room on the 40-man roster, Detroit transferred right-hander Justin Verlander (left hip inflammation) from the 15-day to the 60-day injured list. Verlander will be eligible to return on May 31.
Carpenter is batting .216 with six home runs and 17 RBIs in 37 games this season. He previously sustained a right shoulder sprain in 2023 while robbing a batter of a home run. Over his career, Carpenter has hit .264 with 76 homers, 210 RBIs, a .299 on-base percentage and a .451 slugging percentage in 403 regular-season games since his MLB debut with Detroit in 2022. He has also posted a .275 average with three homers and 10 RBIs in 15 playoff games.
“Carp’s injury could be quick,” Hinch said. “It depends on the inflammation and how fast we can get him back to swinging freely. But in the meantime, we’re going to need to pick it up collectively.”
Workman, 26, was selected by Detroit in the fourth round of the 2020 MLB Draft out of Arizona State, where he was a teammate of current Tigers first baseman Spencer Torkelson. He played 12 games in 2025 as a Rule 5 Draft pick for the Chicago Cubs (nine games) and Chicago White Sox (three games), batting .188 (3-for-16) before returning to the Tigers. This season at Triple-A Toledo, Workman is hitting .358 with four homers, 28 RBIs, 15 doubles, a .413 on-base percentage and a .590 slugging percentage.
“Gage has been killing it in Triple-A,” Hinch said. “He’s been a candidate this whole time to come up and join us when we’ve had these openings. Some have been short spurts. Gage has kept performing and kept playing. He’s made some improvements on defense, on his first step in getting to balls. He has crushed Triple-A pitching pretty much all season and has earned his right to be on a callup list whenever the opportunity came open.”
