Finally good news for Tigers: Kerry Carpenter is back, Trey Sweeney sent to Triple-A
'Call me after your game,' Hinch texted Saturday, July 26.
Then, Carpenter hit a homer for Triple-A Toledo at Indianapolis before calling Hinch.
'First thing he told me is that he felt great,' Hinch said Sunday morning.
Then Carpenter replied: 'What do you need?'
Hinch said: 'We need you in the lineup.'
So, the struggling Tigers brought Carpenter back to Detroit and sent shortstop Trey Sweeney to Toledo. Carpenter had a beaming, wide smile as he walked into the clubhouse early Sunday morning while pulling has luggage.
'We got a lot of good hitters on this team, so I'm excited to kind of be right back in the middle of it and see what we can start doing,' Carpenter said.
Carpenter was immediately slotted into the batting order for Sunday's game against the Toronto Blue Jays. He hasn't played for the Tigers since June 29 because of a hamstring injury.
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'Kerry has a huge presence on this team — the look of the lineup, the feel, the strategy, everything is better with Kerry Carpenter in it,' Hinch said. 'He's an immediate presence in the middle of the order against a right-handed pitcher. It sets things up extremely well.'
Carpenter's return is great news for a team that has been struggling offensively — they have won just one time in their past 13 games.
'The worst is not being able to do anything to help,' Carpenter said. 'We got a bunch of good fighters on this team, and so whatever we can do to get out of this, I'm sure it's gonna come pretty quickly. I'm just excited to be in the middle of it and be back with these guys."
Carpenter played four games for Toledo on a rehab assignment. On Saturday night, he went 1-for-4 with a homer.
'I feel good,' Carpenter said. 'I've been seeing the ball pretty good. ... I saw the ball pretty well and my swing was inconsistent a little bit but last night I felt really good.'
The Tigers plan to bring Carpenter back slowly.
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He is expected to be off on Monday against the Arizona Diamondbacks, but will be in the lineup for the following two games. The Tigers have an off day on Thursday before visiting the Philadelphia Phillies for three games.
'He made a couple adjustments at the plate that made him feel better, both the line drives that he hit yesterday and the homer,' Hinch said.
Sweeney's demotion was hardly a surprise for a batter hitting .208.
'He's got to get to work,' Hinch said. 'He's not playing enough to warrant the roster spot right now and how we were using him. He's got a lot of things that he's been working on.'
[ MUST LISTEN: Talking trade deadline, Tarik Skubal's future with ex-MLB GM Jim Duquette. Make "Days of Roar" your go-to Tigers podcast, available anywhere you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify) ]
Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com. Follow him on X @seideljeff.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Kerry Carpenter gives Detroit Tigers some good news
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