Tigers' AJ Hinch Makes Riley Greene Decision Before Angels Game

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Gavin Groe | Last updated Aug 8, 2025 4:50 PM ET

The Detroit Tigers dropped their fifth series (out of six) since the All-Star break after Wednesday’s loss against the Minnesota Twins, falling to a disappointing 7–12 record in the second half. The Tigers still hold a 66–50 record overall, but their lead in the AL Central is getting slimmer as the Cleveland Guardians have won three straight and now sit just six games back.

A large part of the team’s second-half struggles can be attributed to the underperforming offense, most notably left-handed slugger Riley Greene.

The 24-year-old star had emerged as one of the best hitters in baseball during a dominant first half, earning his second consecutive All-Star selection, but he has struggled since then.

Slumping Riley Greene Gets Mental Reset, Then Lineup Demotion

After receiving the day off Tuesday against the Twins, with manager A.J. Hinch giving him a mental reset amid his slump, Greene followed it up with a lackluster performance Wednesday, going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts.

As a result, ahead of Friday’s series opener against the Los Angeles Angels, Hinch dropped Greene to sixth in the batting order—the lowest he has hit all season in 112 games, and his lowest spot since his MLB debut three years ago.

The move is especially surprising with right-handed starter Kyle Hendricks on the mound for the Angels, giving Greene a platoon advantage as a left-handed hitter.

#Tigers lineup today vs. Los Angeles Angels:

Colt Keith (DH)
Gleyber Torres (2B)
Kerry Carpenter (RF)
Spencer Torkelson (1B)
Wenceel Pérez (CF)
Riley Greene (LF)
Dillon Dingler (C)
Zach McKinstry (3B)
Javier Báez (SS)

Tarik Skubal (LHP)
— Evan Petzold (@EvanPetzold) August 8, 2025

Greene’s Second-Half Slump Dragging Down Tigers’ Offense

Over his first 95 games in the first half, Greene hit .284 with 24 home runs, 78 RBIs, and 53 runs scored, serving as the driving force behind Detroit’s offense. In his 17 games since then, he’s batting .171 with 12 hits, two home runs, and six RBIs. His biggest issue has been making contact, which has never been a strength, but during this stretch he’s struck out in 39.4% of his plate appearances—by far the worst stretch of his career.

Although the small sample size may not be indicative of Greene’s overall ability as a hitter, he is clearly slumping, and Hinch is giving more opportunities to other hitters until he figures it out.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: