Riley Greene's recent leg issues should concern Tigers about longevity

Riley Greene has shaped up into a staple of the Tigers lineup, and luckily, Detroit will have him locked down until 2029. He got his first All-Star appearance this year as one of the best left fielders in the American League and leads Detroit's hitters in most categories. His Baseball Savant page is covered in red, which is exactly what we like to see.

However, Greene has had a history of injury in his still very short career. Last year, he underwent Tommy John (on his non-throwing arm?) and his season was cut off at 99 games. Losing a crucial two months of development didn't exactly lead to a vote of confidence in how sustainable his production would be going forward.

Despite playing very well this year, there might be a new concern we have to keep an eye on: his legs. Greene was out of the Tigers' lineup on Tuesday and will return on Wednesday as DH; per Evan Petzold, AJ Hinch said "his legs are bothering him" and the Tigers will give him more scheduled rest days through the season.

With Tommy John as the headlining concern last year, fans might've forgotten that he also went onto the IL last May because of a stress fracture in his fibula. Maybe what he's going through now is just an aftershock of that issue, but it doesn't exactly give fans a warm feeling.

Should Tigers fans be concerned about Riley Greene's leg issues?

As Hinch told reporters this week, "I think early we had a pretty good setup where the DH spot was spread around a little bit. There was a long stretch during the middle part of this first half where we were running him out there all the time in the outfield, and I didn't give him hardly any breaks."

That's true; Greene played in 96 of the Tigers' 97 games before the All-Star break, but has now missed two since coming out of it. Maybe all it'll take is some extra rest and some strategic gaming of the lineup.

Still, this will be something for fans to monitor going forward. On such a young team, Greene is emerging as a leader for the many rookies despite only having a couple season under his own belt, and he's basically the only first-round draft pick the Tigers have put on the field this year who has been able to perform to expectations. Rest him up, move him to DH more — the Tigers should do whatever they need to in order to keep off the IL.