The Detroit Tigers will soon have to make a decision on what to do with Riley Greene. The star slugger has emerged as one of his team’s top hitters since becoming an everyday starter in 2024. In fact, he has been named to the American League All-Star team in all three subsequent seasons. He most recently led Detroit in OPS, slugging, and doubles during the 2026 campaign.
With this in mind, Greene is scheduled to be a free agent after the 2028 season. MLive’s Evan Woodbery was recently asked what an extension could look like between the two sides. According to the reporter, the slugger is projected to earn around $10 million through arbitration in 2027 and, assuming he stays on track, about $15 million in 2028.
“What if the Tigers guaranteed those two seasons, added a $5 million signing bonus and then tacked on $25 million in 2029 and $35 million in 2030?” writes Woodbery. “That would be a four-year, $90 million deal, an average of $22.5 million per year. It would buy out two years of free agency and let Greene return to the market for his age-30 season in 2031.”
Woodbery believes that the Detroit Tigers would agree to terms with Greene at this price. The reporter, however, wonders if the All-Star would be willing to sign such a deal with Detroit. After all, he may want a longer extension to have more financial security. Nevertheless, negotiating a future deal at 30 would likely provide the star a second lucrative deal.
Detroit Tigers Exec Recently Asked About the Future of Riley Greene
Scott Harris, the president of baseball operations for the Detroit Tigers, was recently asked about Greene’s future with the club. The team’s top exec, however, opted not to reveal specifics about the contract negotiations.
“I know it’s really annoying, but I’m going to stay with the policy of not talking about extensions publicly until they’re done,” Harris said on September 28, as reported by Tony Paul of The Detroit News. “Then we’re happy to talk about everything afterward. For the sake of respect for Riley and all of our players, we’re going to keep that stuff private.”
Despite Harris’ comments, Paul points out that the Detroit Tigers have a recent history of tying down star players ahead of schedule. The Colt Keith and Kevin McGonigle extensions are extreme examples of this. On the flip side, Harris and the Tigers could not get Tarik Skubal to sign a new deal before he hit free agency. Detroit undoubtedly wants to avoid a similar mistake with Greene.
Deal Should Work Well for Detroit and Outfielder
Assuming the Detroit Tigers can sign Greene at the aforementioned price, it would represent fair value. The $22.5 million per year salary would put the slugger among the top five highest-paid MLB left fielders. This figure would be comparable to the 2026 salaries of Teoscar Hernandez and Ian Happ. The Tigers star, however, outperformed these players in many offensive categories this past campaign.
The Tigers need to secure their top players, particularly their hitters. Woodbery predicts Detroit will not sign any significant free agent sluggers this winter. This mostly comes down to the fact that it is a particularly weak class of players.
Tigers Star Slugger Projected to get $90 Million Contract Offer