DETROIT -- For the third time since season's end, a Tiger is headed for surgery, albeit a relatively minor procedure this time. Catcher Grayson Greiner will have a bone chip removed from his right wrist on Tuesday, the team announced Wednesday on Twitter.
Dr. Doug Carlan, a hand surgeon based in St. Petersburg, Fla., will perform the procedure. He diagnosed the bone chip while examining Greiner this week.
The injury is not expected to impact Greiner's readiness for next Spring Training, but it will end his season of winter ball. He played one game this month for Escogido in the Dominican League, going 0-for-3 with two strikeouts in the team's opener on Saturday. He injured his right wrist during batting practice the next day, according to a tweet from the club, and returned to the United States for an exam. What was feared to be a potential fracture turned out to be less severe, a relief for Tigers officials.
Greiner, the Tigers' third-round pick in the 2014 MLB Draft, made his Major League debut with Detroit in 2018, spending two stints as a backup to James McCann. The 6-foot-6 Greiner tied a record as the tallest player to catch a Major League game, but he quickly settled in as a trusted backstop and partner with Tigers pitchers.
Greiner played in 30 games in 2018, batting .219 (21-for-96) with six doubles and 12 RBIs. When he wasn't in the Majors, he hit .266 (42-for-158) at Triple-A Toledo with four home runs, 23 RBIs and a .755 OPS. His winter-ball stint was expected to help him recoup some at-bats he lost serving as a Major League backup rather than playing regularly with the Mud Hens.
Greiner, who turned 26 last week, could be a critical piece for the Tigers in 2019 depending on if the team will hold on to McCann, who's eligible for arbitration. Another Tigers catching prospect, Jake Rogers, is playing in the Arizona Fall League, but is expected to open next season in Toledo after spending this year at Double-A Erie.
Greiner will join outfielder Christin Stewart and right-hander Jordan Zimmermann among Tigers to undergo offseason procedures. Stewart and Zimmermann both had core muscle repair surgeries last week for injuries sustained in September.