The Tigers are heading into the winter with three familiar names still sitting at the center of their health picture: Reese Olson, Will Vest and Kerry Carpenter.
Scott Harris offered updates on all three during the GM Meetings, and the common thread was encouraging, if not exactly clean or simple. Olson is working back from right shoulder surgery.
Vest has already gone through two procedures. Carpenter is healthy now, but the Tigers want a much sturdier version of him next season.
Olson’s case is the most uncertain, even with Harris sounding upbeat. The right-hander’s stuff kept climbing from his debut in 2023 through the last time he took the mound in late July 2025, but durability has remained the issue.
Since arriving in the majors, he has dealt with a shoulder strain, finger inflammation and more shoulder trouble. He had surgery on his right shoulder in February 2026, and the recovery has not moved in a straight line.
Harris said he is “optimistic” Olson will be ready by spring training, though he added that the rehab has had its share of stops and starts.
“I saw video of him, I think, it was like two days ago. He looks great,” Harris said.
“He’s getting through his throwing program right now. The surgery he went through was really difficult.
“There was a lot of like stops and starts with that. But he’s been working really hard through his rehab.”
Vest’s path has been even more tangled. He first went on the injured list in May with forearm inflammation, then again in June with posterior right elbow inflammation.
He never made it back to the majors in 2026. The Tigers initially downplayed the possibility of surgery, but Vest later consulted with Dr.
Keith Meister in Texas and ended up having two procedures: one to address a stress fracture in his elbow and another for a previously undisclosed hip issue.
Still, Harris said Vest is moving in the right direction.
“He looks good. He’s getting after it, as if that was ever going to be a question.
Can’t really sit still. But he looks good, he feels good.”
He is also expected to be ready for spring training.
Carpenter’s situation is less about rehab and more about what comes next. Plantar fasciitis limited him to 81 games in 2026, and he has averaged around 89 games a season since 2022. Some of that comes down to AJ Hinch’s reluctance to use him as an everyday player, but injuries have played their part too.
Harris made it clear the Tigers want more from him.
“It’s a big winter for Kerry,” Harris said. “We’ve just got to get a healthier version of him, and we’ve got to make sure he has a really good winter.”
Carpenter should be ready by spring as well, but the Tigers will be looking for a much stronger run of availability once the season starts.
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