“Compared to the last couple of times that my groin flared up, today’s been the best ‘Day One’ coming out of that issue,” Mize said Monday at Wrigley Field. “I’m feeling pretty optimistic about things but we’re honestly just going to have to re-evaluate at the end of each day.”

Hinch said as long as Mize doesn’t show ill effects during his off-day regimen, he expects the 2025 All-Star to make his next start Saturday against visiting Kansas City.

The groin issue — Mize said his left hand was fine — has been a nagging issue this season and he said that’s been the most frustrating thing.

“It’s not really, like, a big issue, but it keeps popping up,” he said. “I want to pitch deep into games so it’s tough to deal with.

“We’ve been working really hard on it, really being diligent about it, so that’s what makes it a little bit more annoying.”

Mize (4-6, 2.79 ERA) has won two of his last four starts and the Tigers need him healthy as they make their way through the next two weeks, which likely will decide whether they’re sellers or possible buyers at the trade deadline. They started Monday’s three-game series 6½ games behind the American League Central Division-leading Chicago White Sox and in the thick of the wild-card race in what’s been a mostly middle-heavy AL.

The club activated second baseman Gleyber Torres before Monday’s game and he was set to hit second in the lineup. Hinch said he was happy to have the two-time All Star back after more than a month rehabbing a left oblique strain.

“We’re a different team with him in the lineup; certainly the top of the lineup,” Hinch said.

Hinch added Torres likely will be eased into everyday action over the next 10 days. Hao-Yu Lee and Zach McKinstry likely also will see time at second when Torres is DH-ing or getting an off day.

Torres was hitting .280 with 18 RBIs and four homers when he landed on the injured list.

Catcher Eduardo Valencia was optioned to Triple-A Toledo to open a roster spot for Torres in what Hinch called a hard-luck move.

“I just told him he’s going to be back,” Hinch added. “He did everything we asked when he came up.“He’s going to work his way into our mix more routinely with the way that he played and being able to cover us as a right-handed bat, either behind the plate or at first or off the bench.”

Valencia made his major-league debut on July 9 and heads back to Toledo after hitting .417 with two homers and three RBIs while striking out four times in 13 plate appearances.

Báez begins road back

Hinch said Javier Báez’s rehab assignment will begin in Lakeland on Tuesday night. The three-time All-Star played just 24 games before going on the 60-day injured list with a right ankle sprain.

The initial plan, Hinch said, was to gradually get the 33-year-old through thirds or halves of games before he plays full contests. He’ll see time in center field once he’s up to longer outings. There’s no timetable for his return.

The poor air quality from Canada’s wildfires that dogged the Great Lakes region and other parts of the U.S. didn’t make its way down to Anaheim last weekend, and the Tigers caught a bit of a break when they arrived in the Windy City.

Chicago remained under an air-quality alert, but the degree of haziness and the simple odor of the air — Chicago smelled like burned plastic at the worst of the phenomenon — was much better than last Thursday and Friday.

“Good time for a road trip,” shortstop Kevin McGonigle said.

▶ First pitch: 8:05 p.m. Tuesday, Wrigley Field, Chicago

▶ TV/radio: Detroit Sports Net,/97.1 FM

▶LHP Framber Valdez (5-6, 4.10 ERA), Tigers: Valdez makes his first post-break start after returning from the bereavement list. He said Monday he kept to his workout schedule during the break and while in the Dominican Republic. He matched his season-best seven innings his last time out, a 4-1 win over the Athletics on July 9.

▶ LHP David Peterson (4-7, 6.45), Cubs: Peterson will make his fourth start for Chicago after coming from the Mets in a June 25 trade to bolster a rotation that’s been knocked around by all sorts of injuries this season. He had a five-inning no-decision on July 9 and lasted just 3⅓ after giving up 10 earned runs in a 17-1 rout by St. Louis.

Scott Held is a freelance writer.

This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Tigers' Casey Mize expected to make next start