Tigers Injury Updates: Kerry Carpenter, Reese Olson, Riley Greene, Casey Mize

Kerry Carpenter has been missing from the Tigers since May 27, when he went on the 10-day IL with lumbar spine inflammation, which was later revealed as being symptomatic of a stress fracture. He was moved to the 60-day in late July, as his progress from the injury halted and restarted multiple times.

The Tigers have been making do without him, with the rookies (Colt Keith, Justyn-Henry Malloy, Wenceel Pérez) stepping up in a huge way to help make up the difference, but Carpenter's ridiculous effectiveness against righties (.310 average, 1.004 OPS) has been sorely missed.

However, there's finally some good news and signs of real progress being made. Carpenter started a rehab assignment in Triple-A on Tuesday and went 1-4 during his first game with the Mud Hens. It's unclear how long the Tigers will want to keep him down in the minors, but it feels safe to say that he'll be back in the majors by mid-month if things go well.

Although the Tigers are well out of the playoff race, Carpenter's presence will still help this team finish the regular season strong.

Tigers Injury Updates: Kerry Carpenter and Casey Mize rehab assignments, Riley Greene and Reese Olson completing baseball activities

Casey Mize is also on the way to a rehab start; he'll make his first appearance in Triple-A on Thursday. He was moved to the 60-day IL on July 29 with a hamstring strain in order to clear a roster space for Bryan Sammons on the 40-man roster, a decision that Mize publicly expressed displeasure with, as it will make him ineligible to return until early September.

So Mize is destined to spend a lengthy stay in Toledo, despite the fact that he said he felt confident he could pitch ahead of the roster move. The Tigers painted themselves into a corner with this one, as the rotation is still down to two and Detroit is exhausting their relievers to make up the difference.

Reese Olson is the other starter missing in action, and he went onto the 15-day IL on July 21 with a shoulder strain. Both he and Riley Greene, who went down with a hamstring strain a few days after Olson, are completing baseball activities. Olson is throwing on flat ground, and Greene has taken BP and has started running.

So it'll be a while until we see Mize, Olson, or Greene back, but Carpenter is making some promising progress. Hopefully this means he's gotten all of the injuries out of his system and will be able to play a full season next year.