Detroit Tigers utility player Zach McKinstry is injured.
It appears to be multiple injuries.
The 30-year-old exited the Tigers’ 2-1 win over the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday, April 15, in the seventh inning with a bruised hip after getting tripped while charging a ground ball, but he also suffered two injuries in the third inning: jamming his shoulder on defense at third base and scraping his chest on a slide into home plate.
“He’s pretty banged up,” manager A.J. Hinch said before Thursday’s series finale. “We’re going to continue to get him looked at even further. He’s not moving around great today. We got to make sure we check all the body parts.”
After Wednesday’s game, Hinch described McKinstry’s status as day-to-day.
At the same time, Hinch revealed McKinstry would receive a previously scheduled off day in Thursday’s finale after suffering “just a bruise” in Wednesday’s game. By Thursday morning, there seemed to be increased concern from Hinch about McKinstry’s health.
“There are a lot of different things going,” Hinch said. “When you look at the exit of the game, he banged his hip, and then you go back in time, you realize the slide at home was pretty violent and the mini-collision at third base was a little bit of an issue.”
It’s unclear if McKinstry needs a stint on the 10-day injured list.
If so, the Tigers could promote one of three players from the 40-man roster to fill his spot on the 26-man roster: infielder Jace Jung, infielder Hao-Yu Lee or utility player Trei Cruz. All three are struggling with Triple-A Toledo.
In 2026, McKinstry is hitting .209 with one home run, three walks and 10 strikeouts across 14 games, registering a .586 OPS. He has appeared in 48 innings at second base, 33 innings in right field and 22⅓ innings at third base.
McKinstry is a .236 hitter in his 424-game career with the Tigers, from 2023-26.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tigers’ Zach McKinstry ‘not moving around great’ with several injuries
Reporting by Evan Petzold, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
