Tigers fans should be grateful Riley Greene turned down Home Run Derby opportunity

With all of the teams the Tigers sent to the All-Star Game, it was a little surprising that none of their four position players were among the eight sluggers who participated in the Home Run Derby the night before. The most obvious candidate was Riley Greene, who leads the Tigers in first-half homers that also rank him third in the American League behind Cal Raleigh and Aaron Judge.

Per Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press, Greene's non-participation wasn't for a lack of trying on MLB's part. They reportedly reached out to him multiple times asking if he would compete — Raleigh eventually won after a swing-off with the Rays' Junior Caminero — but Greene declined.

He said, "I'm just trying to stay healthy. It's a lot of swings. Some guys can do it. It's meant for some guys. I don't think it's meant for me right now."

It might've been fun to see how Greene would've stacked up against the likes of Raleigh, given the Tigers' collectively bad effort in the All-Star Game the next day (Greene went 0-2 with two Ks himself), but the fact that he always seems to be hampered by injury, it's probably for the best that he didn't participate.

Riley Greene turned down a chance to compete in the Home Run Derby, but Tigers fans should be relieved

Back in late May, manager AJ Hinch was questioned about Greene's absence from a starting lineup. He said, "Riley always feels like he's right on that edge of dealing with something."

Pretty much all of Greene's three seasons past have been at least partially abbreviated. He's dealt with a fibula stress reaction, elbow inflammation, and a hamstring strain, which led him to play in just 99 games in 2023 and 137 games in 2024 — so lower body issues are definitely a concern. He's been left out of lineups and here and there to give him a rest and try to get ahead of any potential issues down the line.

Byron Buxton, who has basically always been injured, did participate in the Derby and seemed to come out on the other end fine, but there was a looming concern that he might exacerbate previous ailments. That really can't happen for the Tigers, who need Greene to stay mostly healthy through the rest of the season if they're going to have a shot at a deep postseason run.