CHICAGO – After a long wait, Detroit Tigers second baseman Gleyber Torres is playing games again.
The 29-year-old began a rehab assignment Saturday, May 30, with Triple-A Toledo in his return from a left oblique strain, batting leadoff and playing second base. He has been sidelined for nearly the entire month of May.
Torres is an on-base machine. His .364 on-base percentage during his seasons as a Tiger (2025-26) ranks 17th in MLB.
“It’s just getting his timing and being a baseball player again,” manager A.J. Hinch said before the Tigers’ 7-1 loss to the Chicago White Sox on Saturday in the second of three games in the series at Rate Field. “He hasn’t been able to do a ton of things with the bat. It’s just the baseball timing of hitting and taking full swings.”
Both Torres and outfielder Kerry Carpenter (left shoulder sprain) are rehabbing with the Mud Hens, though Carpenter seems likely to return to the Tigers before Torres. Carpenter could join the Tigers for Monday’s opener of a three-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field.
The Mud Hens are in the final two games of a six-game series against the Columbus Clippers – the Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians – at Fifth Third Field in Toledo, Ohio.
It’s unclear how many games Torres needs on his rehab assignment.
“We’ll see how many games it takes,” Hinch said. “Is it one? Is it two? Is it more than that? I don’t know yet.”
Torres hasn’t played since May 2.
He couldn’t swing without pain for three weeks, only recently experiencing a breakthrough in his return-to-play hitting program. He passed his final test in Friday’s workout, allowing the Tigers to begin the rehab assignment.
Before the injury, Torres – the everyday second baseman – hit .259 with two home runs, 25 walks and 22 strikeouts across 32 games, posting a .716 OPS.
“He’s never stopped defending,” Hinch said. “The stamina will be fine. It’s the things you can’t practice until you play in games and test it, but he’s feeling no pain or no resistance or no issues. Time to play baseball.”
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Gleyber Torres starts injury rehab assignment with Triple-A Toledo
Reporting by Evan Petzold, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
