Riley Greene, AJ Hinch Offer Blunt Message After Tigers’ Elimination

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The Tigers reportedly agreed to sign a “true five-tool” German outfielder for $500,000, adding an intriguing prospect to their organization.

The Detroit Tigers entered the 2026 MLB campaign having qualified for the postseason two years in a row, and they had their eyes set on advancing further this time around.

However, they ran into injury concerns along with a frustrating inability to hold on to late-game leads, and they were mathematically eliminated from any chance of a playoff berth with less than 10 games remaining in the campaign.

The season isn’t quite over yet, as they have five games remaining. However, there is a natural feeling of disappointment in the air.

Riley Greene, AJ Hinch Speak Bluntly After Detroit Tigers’ Elimination From Playoff Contention

Once their elimination from any chance of a playoff spot became official, skipper AJ Hinch and outfielder Riley Greene both offered blunt takes.

“Yeah, it sucks. We’ve been there the past two years, and our goal is to win the World Series, and we came up short,” Greene said on Monday to Brad Galli via X, formerly known as Twitter. “It’s been tough. Of course, there’s gonna be injuries and things are gonna happen, but at the end of the day, we didn’t win enough baseball games.”

Meanwhile, Hinch didn’t pull any punches – the club fell short of their goals they had in mind coming into this season.

“As we look back, despite all the ups and downs and roller coaster that this season went on, we fell seven days short,” he said. “There are things that we could have done better to alleviate things as a group. We talked about that.”

AJ Hinch Gathered His Players Together Following Their Elimination

Meanwhile, Hinch said that he gathered all players together to speak to them, saying that it’s a practice he’s maintained throughout his managerial career.

“Because it’s something that I’ve always done,” Hinch said via The Detroit News. “I want the day marked on the calendar when you’re mathematically eliminated.”

“I mean, the reality is that we’re eliminated, so we have to stare that right in the face and realize there’s seven days left where we don’t factor in,” he continued. “And we’re not playing playoff teams, either. So it’s a different environment. But once you get over the reality check, then you get to the responsibility of what the next six games need to be.”