DETROIT -- Ian Kinsler is back. James McCann is not, at least not yet. Justin Verlander could be back soon enough. Jim Adduci is nowhere close to returning, but he's making progress.
That was the gist of Tuesday's injury updates from the Tigers, who activated Kinsler from the 10-day disabled list on the first day he was eligible to return. He went on the DL over Memorial Day weekend with left hamstring tightness.
The hamstring had been bothering Kinsler for much of the season.
"I think it's gone," manager Brad Ausmus said. "I don't think it'll be an issue from this point on."
Kinsler agreed.
Like Kinsler, McCann was eligible to return from his DL stint, having sustained a laceration on his left hand on a hit-by-pitch in Houston just before Memorial Day weekend. But with the Angels scheduled to start right-handed pitchers all series, Alex Avila and John Hicks hitting well as a catching platoon and McCann struggling to do much offensively all season, the Tigers took the opportunity to send him on a rehab assignment at Triple-A Toledo.
"We just decided to send him on a couple-day rehab, just to get some live at-bats, let him catch, make sure everything's fine," Ausmus said. "It'll just be a couple days. We're going to see right-handed pitching here until we get to Boston. Alex was going to get the start today, so we might as well get McCann swinging the bat somewhere."

Avila entered Tuesday batting .317 (33-for-104) with eight doubles, eight homers and 23 RBIs for the Tigers this season. Hicks has been a borderline revelation, hitting .313 (15-for-48) with four doubles, three homers and 12 RBIs for Detroit. McCann had somewhat rebounded from a miserable start, but he is still batting just .204 (22-for-108) with seven homers and 17 RBIs.
McCann caught seven innings for the Mud Hens on Tuesday, going 0-for-2 with a walk. He's scheduled to catch nine innings on Wednesday, according to the Toledo Blade. The Tigers will determine the next step after that; a position player can go on a rehab assignment for up to 20 days.

Verlander is not on the DL after leaving Sunday's start with groin tightness, but the Tigers won't determine his status for his next start until he throws his between-starts bullpen session, likely on Wednesday. The Tigers can wait until Saturday in Boston before either starting him or needing a replacement.

Adduci has been dealing with a right oblique strain for the past 3 1/2 weeks. The hot-hitting outfielder said he has been taking swings off a tee for the last five days but still has to take batting practice and track fly balls.
"Everything's just kind of progressing slowly," Adduci said. "Still some general soreness, but it's coming along."