Detroit Tigers: Riley Greene's 2023 season ends with Tommy John surgery

Detroit Tigers outfielder Riley Greene undergoes Tommy John surgery.

The Detroit Tigers have been without Riley Greene for some time now. The team's outfielder has been off the field with an elbow injury. While it was first noted that he may be able to return to the field, those hopes were put to bed.

Greene had to leave a game early after diving for a ball, with a full layout grab to secure an out. He came down hard, and he was pulled from the game so the Detroit Tigers could take a look at their young outfielder.

On Tuesday, the Tigers announced that Greene would undergo a surgical intervention to understand the extent of his elbow injury better. The doctors wanted to go in and see what they were working with when it came to the elbow injury, almost like doing a scope. (I am far from a doctor, rather than trying to make sense of the news.)

On Wednesday, things changed a bit for Greene. It was noted that he underwent a successful Tommy John surgery. It seems like the doctors were able to go in and get things taken care of with Greene. The good news is that the surgery is done and over with, and he'll be on the road to recovery.

While his 2023 season is over and was deemed over already, the good news is that Greene should be able to jump back into things and be ready to go for the 2024 season. He'll have the winter to recover and rehab, which works in favor of the Tigers organization as they are hoping for a speedy recovery so that the 2024 season will not be impacted by any absence from Greene.

The reason the Tigers anticipate he will be good to go for 2024 is that the injury is to his non-throwing arm. He sustained the injury on the glove-side elbow when he laid out to make the diving catch. The recovery process will still be long, but there will be less pressure on him as it is his non-throwing arm.

With plenty of time until February of 2024, Greene should be able to get back on track, which is good to hear for the Tigers. The Tigers outfielder finishes his 2023 season with 99 games played. He performed to a .288/.349/.447 slash line, where he had 19 doubles, four triples, and 11 home runs with 37 RBI to his credit.

The books are closed on the 2023 season for Greene, but he underwent a successful Tommy John surgery and is looking to be back in action in 2024 as Spring Training rolls around.