The Tiger Beat: The grass isn’t always Greener

Can Riley Greene bust out of his unfortunate slump?

Happy Friday, everyone! A few bits and pieces to ease us into the weekend. The Tigers are back home and riding the high of a big win to open their series against the Royals (and we’ll get into one player who clearly busted his slump!) We’ll look at which player has joined the Bizarre Injury Club, and when Shohei Ohtani might be headed back to a pitching mound.

Grab your coffee and let’s get into today’s news.

Detroit Tigers News:

• Cody Stavenhagen gets into the slump we’ve been seeing with Riley Greene and Colt Keith. The article itself is behind a paywall, so we won’t repost much of it, but here’s a little taste of the coverage

But the Tigers’ most recent series in Milwaukee did not prove to be an elixir for Greene’s struggles. Truth is the hardships grew worse. Greene went 0-for-12 and punched out eight times. In Tuesday’s loss, a game in which the Tigers mustered only one hit, Greene got ahead 2-0 against left-handed reliever Jared Koenig, then took three consecutive sinkers before returning to the dugout. Greene did not chase in that at bat, but he also did not swing. Though losing patience tends to be one of his old flaws, his recent battle has been more perplexing.

Stavenhagen looks at the areas where Greene knows he’s having difficulty, with Greene admitting, “I’m missing fastballs right down the middle. It just can’t happen.”

The whole piece is a really interesting dive into what’s creating issues for Greene and Keith, and whether or not A.J. Hinch thinks it’s time to worry.

(Looks like the batting practice helped, as Greene had a three-hit game last night .)

• Seems like A.J. Hinch likes what he’s seeing from Keider Montero and will keep him around for a while…

AL Central News:

• Recently demoted Twins’ player Jose Miranda has headed to the IL as a member of the “strange injury club” after getting hurt while shopping at Target .
• Edgar Quero made his debut with the White Sox while his family cheered him on.
• The Twins’ number 3 top prospect is getting his call-up for his major league debut.

MLB News:

• Lollll

• Reds outfielder Donovan Ford made one of the craziest outfield catches you’ll ever see.
• Dave Roberts offered an update on when fans can expect to see Shohei Ohtani pitch this season , and while the health updates were positive, it will likely still be “a couple of months away.”
• The Yankees shared how strange it was to win as the “visitors” to their own spring training home.
• Nationals reliever Jorge Lopez has been suspended for throwing at Andrew McCutchen.
• Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had a perfect NSFW reaction to his first home run of the season.
• Good guy Shohei Ohtani.