Ahead of Tuesday's spring training contest against the Toronto Blue Jays, the Detroit Tigers provided some positive injury news on outfielder Riley Greene and on slugger Kerry Carpenter.
Chris McCosky, who covers the Tigers, put out the starting lineup which includes Greene leading off in right field. This is his first appearance in the field this spring. He also posted that Carpenter has started running as he recovers from a mild hamstring issue.
Greene is recovering from offseason Tommy John surgery on his non-throwing elbow. He had started at designated hitter on Monday.
The 23-year-old battled multiple injuries in 2023 and only played in 99 games, but he did play quite well when healthy. He hit .288 with 11 homers and 37 RBI while also stealing seven bases. Along with Spencer Torkelson, he makes up a solid young core of position players for manager A.J. Hinch.
He made his major league debut in 2022 and owns a .271/.335/.739 slash line with 16 home runs. He should pair with Torkelson, Javy Baez, Carpenter and Mark Canha to create the core of the Tigers' lineup.
With regards to Carpenter, the 26-year-old broke out in 2023, hitting 20 home runs for the Tigers while posting a .278 batting average. He made his major league debut in 2022 and has 26 career homers and 74 RBI.
He was a 19th-round pick of the Tigers back in the 2019 draft out of Virginia Tech and has become a surprisingly big part of their lineup.
Detroit finished second in the American League Central last season and is looking to make an even bigger jump this season.
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