Why Tigers have young All-Star Riley Greene playing center field in spring training

LAKELAND, Fla. — Detroit Tigers left fielder Riley Greene played center field in back-to-back games in spring training, doing so for six innings in Wednesday's 5-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays and six innings in Thursday's 8-6 loss to the New York Yankees.

The 24-year-old isn't replacing injured Parker Meadows as the everyday center fielder, but until Meadows returns to full health, the Tigers are keeping their outfield construction as flexible as possible with just 13 days until Opening Day.

And Greene has plenty of experience in center field.

"I talked to Riley a while back about sprinkling in some reads," manager A.J. Hinch said before Wednesday's game. "When Parker went down, that's the first question that I was going to get. As spots have opened up, there's going to be an in-game move that pushes him to center."

The Tigers don't want to play Greene in center on a full-time basis.

Greene has dealt with leg injuries in each of the past two seasons, including a left fibula stress reaction in 2023 and a right hamstring strain in 2024.

Playing center field requires more running, which increases the risk of leg injuries. Given Greene's history of lower-body issues, the Tigers aimed to reduce his running workload by moving him from center to left.

Along the way, Greene developed into a Gold Glove-caliber defender in left field.

Everything changed in 2025 spring training when Meadows (musculocutaneous nerve issue) and Matt Vierling (right shoulder strain) — the Tigers’ top two options in center, with Meadows slated as the everyday starter — suffered significant injuries. Vierling has already been ruled out for Opening Day, while Meadows is likely to join him soon.

"We'd like Riley to stay on the corner and do his thing and be the player he is," Hinch said March 1, following the Meadows injury. "I think everything is open-ended, as you would expect on this team, given that we can move everybody around, but you will not see Riley in center this week."

Twelve days later, Greene started in center for the first time in spring training.

The reason for that?

$Detroit Tigers \outfielder Riley Greene runs a drill during spring training at TigerTown in Lakeland, Fla. on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025.$

A strategic in-game move from Hinch is expected to send Greene to center in the regular season.

For example: If Wenceel Pérez starts in center and the opposing team brings in a left-handed reliever to face him in the seventh inning, then the Tigers would opt to use Andy Ibáñez or Justyn-Henry Malloy as a pinch-hitter, but after the pinch-hit situation, Ibáñez or Malloy would play left, while Greene would slide to center for the final innings of the game.

"Wherever he needs me to play, I'm in," Greene said before Wednesday's game. "It doesn't bother me. It's good to get reps out there because you know how much A.J. uses our bench. I could be out there a bunch. It's nice to get out there and get some looks. I might not play it, but just in case."

Meadows trusts Pérez and Greene to lock down center in his absence.

"All the confidence," Meadows said before Wednesday's game. "We have a lot of athletes on this team. A lot of guys can play the outfield. We have a lot of guys that can fill a lot of roles, so I got a lot of confidence."

In his three-year MLB career, Greene has played more than 1,600 innings in center, more than 730 innings in left and just 77 innings in right. in 2024, he was worth plus-14 defensive runs saved in left.

He also was the Tigers' primary center fielder in 2022 and 2023.

"I'm willing to play anywhere, not just center," Greene said. "If I need to play shortstop, I'll play shortstop. I'm here for the team. I'm here to do whatever they ask."

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers star Riley Greene back to center field? Here's why

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Why Tigers have young All-Star Riley Greene playing center field in spring training

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