The Detroit Tigers’ recent slide has made one thing harder to ignore: life without Riley Greene has gotten rough in a hurry.
Since Greene landed on the injured list, the Tigers have gone 2-9, the worst record in the American League over that stretch. With the injuries stacking up and the offense running cold, whatever buzz there was around an unlikely postseason push has started to fade.
That’s the kind of stretch that can force a front office to face a bigger question, and for Detroit president of baseball operations Scott Harris, it should be a simple one: start talking extension with Greene sooner rather than later.
Greene has been one of the few steady pieces in the lineup all season. He’s hitting .273/.366/.450 with 16 home runs and 54 RBI, and he’s trimmed his strikeout total to 133 after fanning a league-high 201 times last season. The walk rate is moving the right way too, with 61 free passes in 117 games compared to 46 walks in 157 games a year ago.
The power is still the big selling point. Greene has posted an OPS above .800 in each of the last three seasons, and that kind of production stands out even more on a roster that has struggled to find dependable outfield help.
Injuries have played a part, but the bigger issue is how thin the group has looked overall. Until Max Clark gets more reps, Greene remains the club’s clear anchor out there.
There’s also the contract angle, and that matters just as much. Greene is arbitration-eligible for the next two seasons and is playing this year on a one-year, $5 million deal.
Harris has not usually been in the business of extending players during arbitration, but Greene may be the exception. He’s 25, and he won’t reach free agency until after the 2028 season.
If the last couple of weeks have taught the Tigers anything, it’s how much they miss him when he’s gone. That should be enough to push them toward locking him up and keeping him in Detroit for the long haul.
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Kevin McGonigle Is Chasing A Tigers Rookie Feat Nobody Has Touched
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McGonigles case is especially interesting because his production has forced him into the center of a bigger conversation about how quickly he has arrived. He has separated himself as one of the most polished young hitters in the rookie class, and if he stays in that lane, he could put himself in position to do something the organization has not seen from a first-year player in a long time. For a club trying to stack real offensive building blocks, that makes his season worth watching even before the awards are handed out. [Read more 🡒]