The Detroit Tigers will likely get a big hitter back in the lineup soon, but there are still some boxes he needs to check off.
Tigers left fielder Riley Greene appeared in a rehab game for Triple-A Toledo on Saturday, Aug. 29, in St. Paul, Minnesota, hitting leadoff in the designated hitter position and batting 0-for-4 with a strikeout. It was Greene's first minor league rehab assignment since exiting Detroit's Aug. 11 game against the Cleveland Guardians with a strained right hamstring.
The Tigers placed Greene on the 10-day IL on Aug. 12 and he hasn't played in the majors since, with the Tigers going 4-12 in his absence.
Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said "everything's good" with Greene after his turns at the plate, and that the next step is seeing
how Greene plays in the field in Sunday's game, scheduled for 3:07 p.m. ET in St. Paul.
"He's going to play a partial game in left field," Hinch said. "If he doesn't get a ball, then he's not really extending himself. He runs after [the ball] in the gap a couple of times, we're going to pay attention to that and see how he's doing."
Greene has been one of the best hitters in Detroit's lineup this season, putting up an .816 OPS over 492 plate appearances. The Tigers could use both his bat and his glove during this stretch, as Detroit's playoff odds have shrunk to low single-digits as the final month of the regular season approaches.
And though the Tigers travel to Minneapolis to play the Minnesota Twins on Monday, Aug. 31, Hinch suggested the earliest Greene could return to the team would be for Tuesday's game against the Twins.
"All encouraging signs that he's passed every test imaginable, with the exception of volume. So we'll see if Tuesday [he's] available to us," he said.
How Greene's return impacts Brett Callahan
Though the Tigers have a losing record with Greene rehabbing his injury, Greene's absence has given opportunities to rookie outfielder Brett Callahan. And the lefty has delivered with seven hits, three of those of the extra-base variety, over his first 10 MLB games.
The Tigers may not need to make a corresponding move to add Greene back to the roster since MLB active rosters expand from 26 to 28 players on Tuesday, Sept. 1, the day the team hopes Greene will be available. But with Greene and Callahan sharing an outfield position and the same side of the batters box, it would make sense for Callahan to at least spend more time on the bench, right?
According to Hinch, Callahan may not see a decrease in playing time when Greene comes back.
"It may change the DH, I think it will spread around the at-bats that are 'taken away' or replaced ... just don't assume [Callahan] is not going to play," Hinch said.
Callahan hit a triple on the first pitch he saw in the majors on Aug. 17, an electric start to his career that hasn't trended downward. The lefty, mostly in platoon and pinch-hit duties against righties, is slashing .292/.333/.542 over 27 plate appearances entering Sunday's game, bringing power in the box and energy on the basepaths with several Tigers outfielders still recovering from injuries. Even in Friday's game, a 2-1 Tigers loss to the Dodgers, Callahan only appeared for one plate appearance and got a pinch-hit single on the second pitch he saw off reliever Brock Stewart.
"He's up there to swing," said Hinch. "He's pretty good, especially as the at-bat gets longer. He's very aggressive early, and then can lock in as the at-bat goes."
Hinch says the 24-year-old Callahan is still learning in his first trip to the big leagues, calling him "a tick nervous" despite showing big-time at bats in his relatively short stint.
But there is one thing that "concerns" Hinch the most about the aggressive-running Callahan: "We gotta find a helmet that stays on. That's the most alarming thing I've noticed about Callahan."
Need to catch up on the news during your lunch break? Sign up for our Sports Briefing newsletter to get daily summaries of Detroit sports!
You can reach Christian at cromo@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Riley Greene injury update: Tigers hoping to get OF back Tuesday
