On Friday afternoon, news broke that the Detroit Tigers had finally made the decision to call up the No. 2 prospect in all of baseball, Riley Greene.
Greene was expected to make the Tigers roster out of Spring Training but that flew out the window when he fractured his foot just before the start of the 2022 season.
Prior to Friday’s game, Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said having Greene in the lineup on Saturday is going to be fun.
“It’s going to be fun,” said Tigers manager A.J. Hinch, who made the announcement before Friday’s game. “He’ll have as much energy tomorrow as he’s probably ever had in his life.”
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A.J. Hinch explains Riley Greene’s role with Detroit Tigers
While speaking to reporters, Hinch made it very clear that Riley Greene, who will be the Tigers’ starting centerfield moving forward, was called up to play, not to sit on the bench.
“One thing I’m not going to do is have him come up here and sit,” Hinch said. “He’s going to play.”
“The weight of the world is not on his shoulders,” Hinch said. “The success of our offense does not rely on him solely. We have a lot of guys that need to pick up the slack….If we expect him to be the sole reason for an offensive turnaround, that’s completely unfair to him.”
Hinch told reporters that the team had been talking about calling up Greene over the past several days and that Austin Meadows landing on the COVID list made the decision for them.
“I’ve never seen a club be more impacted by a young player’s injury than when Riley got hurt. It was a gut punch to the entire team. That speaks to how much credibility Riley gained in our clubhouse.”
A.J. Hinch on Riley Greene: "I've never seen a club be more impacted by a young player's injury than when Riley got hurt. It was a gut punch to the entire team. That speaks to how much credibility Riley gained in our clubhouse." #Tigers https://t.co/Mj1NG0h5R1
— Evan Petzold (@EvanPetzold) June 17, 2022
For those of you wondering why Greene cannot be in the lineup for tonight’s game, it’s pretty simple. Greene was with the Mud Hens in Worcester, Massachusetts, and will not arrive in Detroit until later tonight.
Hinch said Greene will start on Saturday and he will likely bat sixth or seventh in the lineup.
Nation, what are your expectations for Riley Greene?
