LAKELAND, Fla. -- Riley Greene forged a reputation early in his career for sacrificing his body to make a catch, whether diving on the ground and injuring his right elbow two years ago or injuring his legs on outfield fences. It’s his hard-nosed style of play, and the Tigers aren’t going to change that.
Instead, as Greene looks for ways to stay healthy and on the field for the Tigers, he has sacrificed his fast food diet. For a 24-year-old with a penchant for chicken sandwiches, that’s a bigger ask than it sounds.
“I ate better this offseason, which really helped how I felt working out,” Greene said. “I love my Chick-fil-A; I do. But I set a record [low] for how many times I ate it. Three times this offseason, that’s it. I was proud of myself for that.”
Greene said he is still eating protein, but leaner cuts. He found a Mediterranean place to satisfy his cravings when he needs to eat out, and he ate there four times a week.
“It’s a huge step,” Greene said. “This team motivated me. The boys, they depend on me as we depend on them. My goal is to stay on the field for them.”
Greene played in 137 games last season, his first time topping 100 games in a season in the Majors. With a 5.4 bWAR, 133 OPS+, 24 home runs and 74 RBIs, he was Detroit’s most productive hitter. Still, he missed three weeks with a right hamstring injury, and his mid-August return helped fuel the Tigers’ late-season charge to the playoffs.
That impact wasn’t lost on Greene, prompting him to spend part of his offseason working to strengthen his hamstrings and finding a good sleep routine.
“We’re just trying to fix things up internally as much as we could to make sure the hamstrings are good,” Greene said. “A lot of good workouts this year, and I’m feeling very confident in the body.”
He’s also feeling confident in himself. Part of his eating habits over the years came out of superstition. If he had a good game after eating a particular dish, he was likely to stick with it.
“I’m done being superstitious,” Greene said. “It’s getting old.”
His manager sees it as part of the maturation process.
“I think his overall understanding of why he is good has grown,” A.J. Hinch said, “and then what it’s going to take for him to endure what’s expected of him.”
No Clark, McGonigle in big league camp
While the Tigers invited No. 6 prospect Thayron Liranzo and No. 8 prospect Hao-Yu Lee to Major League camp for Spring Training, the omission of No. 2 prospect Max Clark and No. 3 prospect Kevin McGonigle was a slight surprise. President of baseball operations Scott Harris explained the decision on Friday.
“We treat Major League camp invites as a developmental decision,” Harris said. “I’ve been very outspoken about how we individualize development for every player in the Minor Leagues. If we’re going to individualize development, we’ve got to individualize Major League camp decisions.
“If there are players that we think can benefit from exposure to the big leagues, if we think there are players whose development we think will be enhanced or accelerated as a result of being here, we’re going to invite them. If we think there are players that can benefit from being on the Minor League side and staying focused on their development goals and preparing for, say, their second full pro season, we’ll keep them on the Minor League side.”
The difference with Liranzo comes in part from his catching duties.
“His developmental plan requires a few more reps than, say, another position player,” Harris said. “He has to get more comfortable with our game planning, learn and catch our pitchers, be around our pitching coaches and work with [catching coach] Ryan Sienko every single day on some of the receiving nuances that we prioritize in the big leagues.”
Clark and McGonigle could still appear in Grapefruit League games as extra players.
“Don’t be surprised if we bring some guys over to play in games,” Harris said.