The Tigers announced that outfielder Riley Greene has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a right hamstring strain. Infielder/outfielder Ryan Vilade has been recalled from Triple-A Toledo in a corresponding move.
At this point, it’s unclear how long Greene is expected to be out of action and the player himself couldn’t provide much clarity. “It’s Grade 1 or 2, whatever it is,” Greene said, per Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic on X. “It could have been worse. I’m glad it’s not. There’s really no timeline behind it. It’s based on how I’m feeling, and go from there.”
Even with that murky prognosis, it could be a notable development nonetheless as Greene has easily been the club’s best position player this year and the Tigers are one of many in-between teams that could impact Tuesday’s trade deadline.
In 101 games for Detroit this year, Greene has 17 home runs. His 25.5% strikeout rate is a bit on the high side but he’s also drawn walks in 11.9% of his plate appearances. His .264/.357/.485 batting line leads to a 136 wRC+, indicating he’s been 36% better than the league average hitter.
Greene’s glovework has also received strong reviews. He has played all three outfield slots, though mostly in left field. Thus far, he’s racked up nine Defensive Runs Saved and two Outs Above Average.
Combining his offensive and defensive contributions, Greene has been worth 2.9 wins above replacement this year, per the calculations of FanGraphs. No other position player on the Tigers has been worth more than 1.5 fWAR this year so Greene is essentially doubling all of his non-pitching teammates in that department.
The Tigers are one of many clubs within sight of a playoff spot but not necessarily with a great shot. They are 51-53 and currently 5.5 games back of an American League Wild Card spot. The Playoff Odds at FanGraphs give them an 8.8% chance of getting into the postseason while the PECOTA Standings at Baseball Prospectus have them a tad lower at 7.7%.
If they decide to sell between now and the deadline, they could make some very interesting players available. Jack Flaherty is viewed as the top rental starting pitcher on the market and the Tigers have other possible rentals in Carson Kelly, Mark Canha and Gio Urshela. They have 2025 club options on Andrew Chafin and Shelby Miller. Though Tarik Skubal has two years of club control remaining after this one, rival clubs are undoubtedly trying their best to get him out of Detroit.
The Tigers are playing the Twins this weekend, one of the clubs they are chasing in the playoff race. Perhaps their results this weekend will impact what kind of moves they make. Losing Greene figures to hurt their chances in those upcoming games and the ones to come after that, making this a potentially significant IL stint.
My guess: this puts a fork in the Tigers playoff hopes. OK…maybe they sweep the Twinkies this weekend. That could force the prices up on Flaherty et al. No need to trade Skubal this season. Lots of time. However, with Greene, Meadows , Mize and Olson all on the shelf for varying times over the next few weeks, I don’t see there being enough time/games for the Tigers to make up ground and steal a playoff spot.
Bring up Jobe, Jung, Dingler, trade Flaherty, Cahna, Kelly or Rogers, keep Skubal unless it’s truly a lopsided trade. Tigers could be good next year, must find a shortstop.
I’d make sure Dingler can hit major league pitching before getting rid of one of two major league acceptable catchers… of which some teams have zero.
Kelly’s a free agent after this season. They can trade him, test drive Dingler and resign him if Dingler sucks.
Agree with your take. I wonder if they can get a good young SS back for Flaherty. All the ones I’ve looked seem to be the heir apparent or needed on the big league team (Nacho Alvarez), lower minors or too highly ranked to be traded for Flaherty. Baez needs to be benched.
Baez needs to be benched. True dat, my friend. Such a DRAG of a contract. Oh well, no use crying about it.
I get the feeling Rogers is AJ’s boy and is the center of the clubhouse and could destroy a pretty good chemistry if he were moved.
Carson Kelly has been a good pickup, IMO. Considering hardly any catchers hit these days, I don’t have any complaints about the Tigers catching. I would think there would be interest in Kelly.
Tigers should move their 1-year guys if they can add talent to the pool.
I think they’ll promote Jobe next month so that he retains rookie status next year. He will have a legit chance to win ROY next year. The last I gathered among various farm reports was that Dingler is ready to test the next level but Jung is not.
Interesting story in FREEP (I think) is that Dingler’s biggest weakness is hitting high heat. Tigers have plenty of experience with that. Named Spencer Torkelson.
Rogers is Skubals boy
Carson Kelly will get dealt almost assuredly and they’ll bring up Dingler. There’s a better market for him than Rogers, and if they keep Skubal they def won’t move Rogers since they are linked together basically, the latter being the former’s battery mate every 5 days.
Kelly is gonna get a big raise this offseason and until proven otherwise I have 0 faith in Chris Illitch spending even to the average MLB payroll at this point, so btw the two it’s gonna be Carson that goes
Tarik Skubal is your BEST shot at finding an everyday, future-and current-shortstop.
There are some players who they could get back for Flaherty who might fit the bill but its hard to see a Nacho Alvarez type AAA player coming back for him. Maybe a AA guy or a lower level guy like Torin from Ariz, Houck from NYM, Joendry Vargas from LAD? To get a more high end SS prospect closer to MLB like Jordan Lawler or Matt McLain more likely only comes from a Skubal deal.
Some articles talk about McGonigle as the SS of the future but most suggest he’ll be at 2B. Him and Rainer are years away.
Need to wait until mid August before they can bring them up so they don’t lose their rookie status for next year
Their poor start put the fork in their playoff hopes. Every team has injuries, and so far the Tigers have only had mild ones. Compare this year to Avila’s last, when they had 8 starting pitchers hit the IL for long stretches. Lets hope Maeda gets a revival pitching against his old team tonight.
I think Maeda is best served moving forward in a 6th rotation/swing man/bullpen day pitcher. He, like Baez, will be on the team next year, whether the fans like it or not.
Poor start? They started 6-1 and were 18-13.
It was May into June.
Their slow start is also the biggest reason for the heating up — IE the young bats. Had they not kept trotting out the scuffling young guys many wouldn’t have worked through the struggles against MLB pitching, Keith being example 1a, but up and down the 40 man everyone save for Greene – who’s now hurt anyway – every batter was God awful all of April
This team has pieces…but bottom line is that they simply don’t match up 25 man vs 25 man against Minnesota and Cleveland, and while I’d take their pitching over KC on most days, KC’s lineup is where Detroit hopes their’s is this time next year.
Before the season there was simply too many questions about the roster, and even now too many gaping and glaring holes, for this squad to be legit contenders for the playoffs. MAYBE spending on another arm like Lugo or a couple bats like JD would have changed that…but maybe not, since most of the guys that would have assuredly made a difference were probably gonna cost more than this current Tigers regime has shown willing to spend
I don’t think it helped that Tork and Meadows, who most thought would do well fell flat on their faces right from the start.
Ilitch said he’d spend when they have a competitive core in place. I think they have enough of a core that he has to put his money where his mouth is this offseason.
I guess we’ll see. Me? I’m afraid I’m not that hopeful.
Health is the only thing that worries me about Riley Greene. Having seen him for a couple years now, I’ve always felt he was 1-going to be good 2-should be a Tiger for life 3-may be hampered by lower body injuries.
The way he runs looks like he’s trying to lessen the impact of his feet hitting the ground – as if there’s some lower back pain or leg issues he’s compensating for. I’ve noticed he kind of raises his shoulders as he strides, like he’s on his tiptoes, trying to minimize the impact.
I hope it’s just my imagination but Riley reminds me of Fred Lynn: a very good player who could have been great if not for the injuries.
He needs to stop playing CF even though he is a human highlight reel out there.
Agree. I like a starting OF of Riley in LF, Parker in CF & Carpenter in RF to start 2025.
One positive of all those guys being out: more big league reps for J-Hen & Perez.
Greene seems to have Soggy Bones Syndrome
S/O Pop Star
I know Greene has been very injury prone, usually due to “freak” injuries (broken foot on a foul ball, stress reaction in his shins) but this is the third straight ght year he’s been down with some sort of injury, I really hope this is just normal wear and tear that comes with playing baseball and Greene isn’t just a fragile player. He could be absolutely great of he can juts stay healthy for a whole season.
It’s telling that he barely played after All Star Break, and it went from “routine day off since he didn’t have a normal AS Break” to “just want to stack a cpl days off in a row” to “He’s got some dead legs going on, just needs a breather” to “its not really pain, he’s just not feeling great in his lower half” to “Yeah, he has a pulled hamstring I guess”
Some guys, for whatever reason, just fall apart physically once they stop growing. I’ve got a best friend who played football thru D3, and while he never had a serious injury, he medically retired from playing 2 years into college…and has had 2 separate hip replacements, a shoulder surgery and 2 knee procedures in the decade since, with no exact cause for the problems really known. It happens.
We’ve seen it before in some athletes, where a year or two after being drafted it seems like they fall apart joint by joint, muscle by muscle in quick succession…
Hope Greene is not on this path but…
Please deliver Jackson holladay
I know Tigers fans hate to hear this, but we really need to ponder a trade with BALT. They REALLY need Skubal to get to and win a WS after being swept in the 1st round last year, and we really need these prospects. Alot of these guys are gonna be blocked by MLB starters such as Henderson, Rutschman, etc and are needed way more than a pitcher that plays every 5th game. If we only had 1 or 2 holes in our offense then hell no, keep Skubal and go on. But with Boras as his agent, he is as good as gone in 2 years and all we’re gonna get is a Comp Balance Pick. It will suck at first but once these kids start producing at the MLB level, it will be well worth it. It really will be a win/win trade in the long run.
So you would advocate trading Mo Seider and Lucas Raymond for prospects since the Wings are not ready to compete for the Stanley Cup, right? You are very short sighted in your thinking as there is NO WAY the Tigers should trade the best player on the team when they’re within a year or two of contending. Sounds like you’d prefer seeing a perpetual rebuild and rooting for prospects who likely will never have the success Skubal is having. Great idea!!!
For next year, an outfield of Greene, Meadows, Carpenter, Perez and Malloy is good. Will Tork figure it out? Keith could move to first. Vierling is OK, Will Jung be at third? A rotation with Skubal, Olson, Jobe, Mize is good. Too bad we didn’t keep Willi Castro.
Willi Castro has journeyman written all over him.
The one on this year’s All Star team? Batting 100 pts higher than Baez or McKinstry? He’s no Trammell, but much better than what we’ve been running out there the last three years.
He wasn’t when they let him go that’s for sure. Hindsight is 20-20. Glad to see him doing well with his new team.
Most fans thought Harold was the better Castro
The decision whether to contend or sell would be easier if Detroit’s offense didn’t perk up until July.
They’re getting close overall but have to sell this year.
Let the trading begin.
I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me when I read Hinch told a writer he didn’t want one of his hitters going to RF because it would mess up his timing. Hinch remains unaware you don’t have to “let the pitch get deep for more flyballs” to go to RF. But seeing him admit it while taking no blame (does he ever?) for the worst hitting lineup in MLB was typical. Parker Meadows said out loud he started hitting when he decided he no longer wanted an “up hill” swing. So, watch guys like Vierling and Perez, Urshela, and J-Hen swinging level for base hits and getting production.. Torkelson knew what was coming if he didn’t try to obey Hinch but he couldn’t do it. He is just now getting his timing back with the Hens. And of course there are lower-body injury consequences for uppercut swings and hopefully they flatten out Riley before he ends up where Carpenter is….first it’s the hams, then the lower back..
That’s an interesting take. I never considered injuries could occur due to swing-paths. Compensating for other injuries, yes, but not swing paths. Why not? It does fill in a few blanks.
I hope they can correct Riley’s health issues whatever the cause. He’s a franchise player I’d like to see wearing the ‘D’ for a long time.