Tigers' Kerry Carpenter nears Grapefruit League debut

Lakeland, Fla. — The name Kerry Carpenter was highlighted in yellow on the Tigers’ travel roster for Tuesday’s game against the Braves in North Port.

Which means, he’s back. It will be Carpenter’s first Grapefruit League action after he experience tightness in his left hamstring doing running drills early in camp.

“Obviously I’m really excited,” said Carpenter, who will be the designated hitter. “I’ve been wanting to get out there. It’s not time to rush it. We’ve been just taking it easy and making sure nothing crazy happens. I understand they didn’t want to rush it, but I wanted to play the day after it happened.”

The Tigers made Carpenter pass all the medical and baseball activity tests twice. The last test came Monday when he ran the bases before the game.

Truth is, though, Carpenter has gotten more at-bats against live pitching than any healthy player in camp. His have just been on the back fields against pitchers from minor league camp.

“Yeah, I’ve been getting at-bats and getting my timing down,” Carpenter said. “That’s the thing I’ve been working on the most. I should be ready.”

Carpenter said he’s gotten between 30 and 40 at-bats. Before Monday, Andy Ibanez has the most actual game at-bats with 17. Carpenter had a long session facing Tigers’ top pitching prospect Jackson Jobe.

“He got me a couple of times,” Carpenter said. “But after a while I started seeing him better. The guy is pretty good. I hope he’s in Detroit here soon.”

Not that he's complaining, but Carpenter won't be easing into things. First, it's a two-hour drive to North Port. Second, the Braves are planning to pitch Spencer Strider and Charlie Morton. Buckle up.

"I will drive anywhere to go play," Carpenter said.

Breaking the ice

Right-hander Ty Madden was on the pitching list for the game against the Red Sox on Monday. It’s not an insignificant thing.

“This experience is probably a bigger deal than we give it credit,” Tigers manager AJ Hinch said. “We try to downplay it a little bit for the young player on what it means to walk on that field. He’s going to be in a game, home crowd, wearing home whites with a lot of guys that normally play for us — a TV game — there’s a lot that he’s never done before.”

Madden, a first-round pick of the Tigers in 2021, pitched in a split-squad game on the road earlier this spring. He gave up two hits and two walks and struck out two without allowing a run.

“We will break the ice here,” Hinch said. “Get him familiar and our guys familiar with him. It’s one of the reasons why I do things in the clubhouse to introduce these guys. So when they turn into Reese Olson or Matt Manning, players who wouldn’t otherwise be introduced until they got to the big leagues.”

Madden and Jobe are the two primary non-roster pitching prospects who were invited to camp. Jobe has yet to pitch in a spring game. Hinch has indicated he’s hoping to get him an inning or two at some point before the end of camp.

Around the horn

The Tigers Monday traded infielder Andre Lipcius to the Dodgers for cash considerations. The club had designated Lipcius for assignment last week. The Dodgers made the trade to bypass the waiver process, feeling Lipcius likely would have been claimed before their turn came around.

chris.mccosky@detroitnews.com

@cmccosky