Tigers Place Riley Greene On Injured List

The Tigers announced that outfielder Riley Greene has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a right hamstring strain. Fellow outfielder Corey Julks has had his contract selected to replace Greene on the roster. To open a 40-man spot for Julks, right-hander Troy Watson has been designated for assignment.

Greene departed yesterday’s game due to tightness in that hamstring. It’s unclear how much time he will miss but it seems the club expects him to need at least ten days. That’s a blow for the Tigers, as Greene is one of their better players and they are in a tight playoff race. Despite trading Tarik Skubal and Casey Mize prior to the deadline, Detroit has pulled within half a game of a Wild Card spot and just 2.5 back of the White Sox in the Central division.

Keeping that momentum going without Greene will be a challenge. His 27% strikeout rate is high but he has a 12.4% walk rate and has hit 16 home runs. He has a .273/.366/.450 line and 129 wRC+ on the year. He’s not an amazing defender but has nonetheless been worth 2.6 wins above replacement here in 2026. While he’s out, the Tigers will have an outfield mix consisting of Max Clark, Zach McKinstry, Ben Malgeri, James Outman and Julks.

The 30-year-old Julks signed a minor league deal with the Tigers in the offseason. He has been having a solid season for Triple-A Toledo, with a 9.8% walk rate, 19.7% strikeout rate, 15 home runs, a .273/.347/.453 line and 112 wRC+. He also has nine stolen bases.

Those are encouraging numbers but Julks has had Triple-A success before without it translating to the big leagues. He has 525 major league plate appearances with a .234/.288/.337 line and 74 wRC+. Naturally, the Tigers will hope that this is the time where he can find some success in the show. If it doesn’t work out, he still has an option remaining and can be easily sent back to Toledo.

The cost of adding an outfielder is that a pitcher is bumped off the roster. Watson, 29, was selected last month. He still hasn’t made his major league debut as he was immediately optioned back to the minors after getting a 40-man spot. It was reported at the time that Detroit was motivated to give him a roster spot because he had interest from an overseas club.

Watson was acquired from the Blue Jays in 2024. He worked in a swing role in the minors last year, logging 104 2/3 innings over 14 starts and 22 relief appearances. He allowed 2.75 earned runs per nine. His 22.9% strikeout rate and 8.7% walk rate were fairly average but he induced grounders at a strong 47.4% clip.

This year, before getting a roster spot, he was stretched out. He had a 2.88 ERA in 56 1/3 innings over 15 appearances but only punched out 17.1% of opponents. Since getting added to the 40-man, he has been in relief, throwing nine innings over six appearances with three earned runs allowed, four walks and seven strikeouts. His 40.1% grounder rate for the year is down from last year.

Since the trade deadline has passed, Watson will have to be put on waivers. He still has a full slate of options and could appeal to another club in search of depth. If he clears, he would not have the right to elect free agency but perhaps the Tigers would then allow him to pursue the overseas opportunity from last month, if it’s still on the table.