PITTSBURGH — Riley Greene’s rehab is trending in a positive way, manager A.J. Hinch said before the Detroit Tigers’ game against the Pirates on Wednesday, Aug. 19.
The Tigers’ left fielder went on the injured list Aug. 12 with right hamstring tightness and is currently in Lakeland, Fla., as he recovers.
Hinch said the team didn’t think Greene would make it back directly after the 10-day IL assignment is finished, but the Tigers are hopeful it won’t be too long after that.
Hinch doesn’t expect him to join the team in Kansas City.
“I think we will see him at home,” he said.
The Tigers return to Comerica Park on Monday for a six-game homestand against the Tampa Bay Rays and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Greene’s production tends to come in bunches, and he’s susceptible to prolonged droughts, but the Tigers’ offense clearly misses his bat in the cleanup spot in the lineup and the way it protects the hitters at the top of the order.
Hinch said the club is optimistic because Greene recently returned to baseball activity and has been able to get on his feet a tick faster than they had anticipated.
“We have the therapy pool in Lakeland that is excellent for the lower extremity injuries,” Hinch said.
Still, he added: “The further you’re away from major league pitching, the more you’re going to have to consider a game or two [of rehab assignment starts]. But he’s got a lot of tests to pass before we get to that point. At that point, we’ll see where we’re at, we’ll see kind of what’s best for him, what’s best for us. The faster we get him back, the better, but only if it’s safe and he’s able to play at his level, but also play consistently. Because I’m going to want him in the lineup every day.”
What’s up with Brant Hurter?
Brant Hurter couldn’t get through an inning in his rehab start in Triple-A Toledo on Tuesday. The Tigers lefty reliever is recovering from lumbar spine inflammation and has struggled in his rehab starts.
He gave up a run, two hits and two walks in two-thirds of an inning before he was pulled. The velocity on his fastball barely reached 90 mph.
Hinch said he planned on digging deeper into Hurter’s latest rehab outing.
“I was talking to [pitching coach Chris Fetter] about that [Wednesday] morning,” he said. “[Hurter’s] body is not firing. The velocity is not where it normally is. And his delivery is something that we’re digging into. What is causing … his stuff not being at his best?”
Hinch isn’t worried about the results so much as what’s causing them.
“We’re more concerned with trying to make sure that he is physically doing the same things that he is when he’s good,” he said. “We can work on the results, obviously − pitch selection, location, but we’re going to look into more and more how to get him to perform a little bit better by getting his body fired a little bit faster.”
Contact Shawn Windsor: swindsor@freepress.com. Follow him @shawnwindsor.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tigers playing it safe with Riley Greene, but injury rehab on schedule
Reporting by Shawn Windsor, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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By Shawn Windsor, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
