Tigers All-Star Slugger Reacts to Being Dropped in Batting Order by A.J. Hinch

Detroit Tigers All-Star left fielder Riley Greene is one of the most productive sluggers in baseball, but even the best players go into slumps from time to time.

He is currently looking to break out of one, still searching for his first hit in August. The last time he recorded a hit was July 30, when he went 2-for-4 against the Arizona Diamondbacks in a 7-2 victory.

Since that point, he has gone hitless in 21 consecutive at-bats, failing to get on base even a single time via walk. He has struck out nine times over that span, continuing to rack up punchouts at an eye-popping rate despite his overall production.

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Greene was held out of the lineup for one of the Tigers’ games in August, on the 5th against the Minnesota Twins, despite right-hander Zabby Matthews being on the bump.

The day off to collect himself didn’t help out much, as he went 0-for-4 in his return to the lineup on Wednesday, going down on strikes three times.

In an effort to shake things up and looking to get his star player back on track, manager A.J. Hinch is making an adjustment to his lineup.

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In the team’s series opener against the Los Angeles Angels on Friday night, Greene will be hitting in the sixth spot in the order.

How far down the Tigers lineup is Riley Greene moving?

It is only the second time in his career that he will be hitting there. The only other time was on June 18, 2022, which happened to be the day he made his MLB debut, when he faced off against left-handed pitcher Taylor Hearn of the Texas Rangers.

Taking the mound tonight for the Angels is soft-tossing right-hander Kyle Hendricks, an opponent whom Greene should be able to find some success against.

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Moving down in the order isn’t something any player ever wants to deal with, but the All-Star is handling the move as well as he can, offering his take on the situation with a quote pre-game.

"Whatever A.J. (Hinch) wants to do, I trust. We never question him. Whatever he's doing, he's doing it for a reason. It is what it is,” Greene said, via Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press on X, in response to Hinch moving him down in the order.

Riley Greene on batting sixth for the first time since his MLB debut:

"Whatever A.J. (Hinch) wants to do, I trust. We never question him. Whatever he's doing, he's doing it for a reason. It is what it is." #Tigers https://t.co/MypvJsai1N
— Evan Petzold (@EvanPetzold) August 8, 2025

This will certainly be an adjustment for him.

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Greene has spent all but 16 games, 12 starts and 57 plate appearances as a Major League player batting in the top half of the lineup, somewhere between the leadoff spot and the cleanup spot.

With the team’s performance in August being shaky thus far, losing four out of six games, and Greene struggling as much as he is, Hinch is looking for a spark.

And it is hard to blame him with their lead in the American League Central shrinking by the day.