Tigers option Ryan Kreidler to Toledo, Jace Jung recalled

This one is a bit of a surprise.

All day our staff has been keeping watch on social media for news about Kerry Carpenter’s status. After the slugging outfielder left Sunday’s matchup with the Kansas City Royals with hamstring soreness, it was hard not to fear the worst. Posts from beat writers early this afternoon noted that Jace Jung was on the field taking ground balls at Comerica Park. A move of Carpenter to the injured list seemed like the corresponding move, but instead, Ryan Kreidler has been optioned to Triple-A Toledo in favor of Jung.

Until Hao-Yu Lee heated up over the past two weeks, Jung has been carrying the Mud Hens offense on his back in April. It’s not as though Jung has been red hot either, but his 22.7 percent walk rate has certainly held matters. He has three home runs on the year in 19 games, and currently holds a 144 wRC+. Unfortunately, he’s also continued to strike out at a rate that suggests he hasn’t really turned a corner in his quest to break into the major leagues full-time.

Of course, Kreidler has hit not even a little bit. His defense in center field has been sound enough, but there’s just no way for defense to float a profile with a -8 wRC+ and a 43.2 percent strikeout rate. It’s continued to be odd all offseason that the Tigers chose to protect Kreidler over more talented players, and yet he’s only been optioned, not designated for assignment, so he may not be quite done in Detroit yet either.

The tricky part is that obviously Jung isn’t a center fielder. The Tigers have been using Riley Greene in center as Kreidler’s inability to hit major league pitching has become more and more glaring. One would assume that Greene is going to get most of the reps in center field until one of the Tigers’ injured outfielders who can handle the position returns from the IL. It would seem that Jung will play third base in place of McKinstry, who will now play a lot more corner outfield until they get some help back from the injured list.

As of this writing, there is no update on Carpenter’s status. We’ll assume he’s going to get a few days to try and heal up and avoid an IL stint. With Matt Vierling reportedly getting close to going out on a rehab assignment in the next week or two, and Parker Meadows now working through a throwing program that will hopefully enable him to return from the 60-day IL when eligible on May 26, the timetables are starting to become more clear. So is the stretch the Tigers will need to continue to cover in the interim.