Riley

Greene

After a hot weekend at the plate in Cleveland, Greene is 7-for-22 (.318) with two home runs, four doubles and eight RBI in five games so far in September. He’s hitting.275 with an .831 OPS and 62 RBI, but is looking to finish the season on a high note.

Greene was basically the entire Tigers’ offense in this one. He tagged Guardians’ southpaw Parker Messick for an opposite-field 407-foot (106.9-mph EV) solo shot to open the scoring in the first inning. He then added to that lead with an RBI single in the third before crushing a 421-foot (108.9-mph EV) solo shot to left-center in the sixth that made it a 3-0 game. Greene also added an RBI double in the seventh and scored on Ben Malgeri’s RBI single. With his four-hit night, the 25-year-old All-Star outfielder is hitting .273/.364/.461 with 18 homers and 60 RBI across 511 plate appearances on the season.

The Tigers could have DH’d either Greene or Dingler, but it’s Hao-Yu Lee in that spot after he played second base in the first game today. Greene just came off the IL on Tuesday, so two games in a day probably isn’t appropriate right now. Dingler is struggling mightily at the plate, so he’s DH’d just once in the last few weeks.

Greene is back in left field and hitting cleanup following a three-week absence due to a hamstring strain. The timing was extremely unfortunate for Detroit since they went into a tailspin without their primary middle-of-the-order threat for a couple weeks. His return is a nice bonus for fantasy managers heading into the playoffs, especially since he gets to fae Minnesota and Cleveland right out of the gate.

The Tigers are going to give Greene a day off to rest and recover after playing in a pair of minor league rehab contests for Triple-A Toledo over the weekend. He’s been on the shelf with a hamstring strain since early August. He’ll return to the heart of Detroit’s lineup once rosters expand this week.

Greene played left field today after DHing on Saturday. Expectations are that he’ll come off the injured list and rejoin the Tigers lineup when rosters expand on Tuesday.

It sounds like there’s a decent chance that Greene is back for Monday’s series opener against the division-rival Twins. The 25-year-old run-producer has been on the shelf with a hamstring strain since early August. He’ll get in a pair of minor league contests over the weekend before the Tigers make a decision on his next steps. They could certainly use his formidable bat back in the middle of their lineup.

Tigers manager A.J. Hinch told reporters Greene isn’t back to running at full speed yet, but he’s been ramping up from a physical standpoint recently. The 25-year-old middle-of-the-order force hit the injured list with a hamstring strain back on August 12. He remains without a definitive return timetable, but figures to make it back to Detroit at some point in early September. The Tigers have gone just 2-9 overall since he landed on the injured list.

It’s brutal timing for Detroit, and fantasy managers, with just over six weeks remaining in the season. No word yet regarding the severity of the strain, which will determine how much time Greene misses. However, fantasy managers should brace for a multi-week absence. The 25-year-old middle-of-the-order force has graded out as a top-25 range fantasy outfielder this season, hitting .273/.366/.450 with 65 runs scored, 16 homers, 54 RBI and three steals in 492 plate appearances through 117 games.

Greene’s status for Wednesday’s game against the Guardians — and potentially the contests after that — is still in doubt. The Tigers have added Corey Julks to the taxi squad as a potential replacement. Fantasy managers should be prepared for an absence, but his status should be updated well before the game.