Detroit Tigers catcher Grayson Greiner likely headed to IL with hamstring injury

Detroit Tigers catcher Grayson Greiner departed from Tuesday's game in the fifth inning with a left hamstring strain. The severity of his injury and timetable for return is unclear, but manager AJ Hinch said Greiner will likely need a stint on the injured list.

"I'm not optimistic that he's going to avoid the injured list," Hinch said after the 8-7 win over the Kansas City Royals at Comerica Park. "It's just really hard at that position, especially a lower extremity injury. I don't think it's that bad, but I think it's going to be bad enough for us to consider a roster move."

Jake Rogers, the team's only other catcher, pinch-hit for Greiner in the bottom of the fifth inning in the series opener. Starting catcher Wilson Ramos went to the 10-day injured list Friday with a lumbar spine strain. Rogers was called up to fill Ramos' spot.

If the Tigers indeed bring up another catcher, they'll need to create room on the 40-man roster. The catcher most likely to join the team from Triple-A Toledo is Eric Haase. The Mud Hens also have veteran catcher Dustin Garneau, who signed this offseason on a minor-league contract, but he is on the seven-day injured list.

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Greiner, 28, went 1-for-2 with an RBI single against the Royals. He grounded out to third base to end the second inning, stranding the bases loaded. In the fourth inning, however, Greiner singled to keep the four-run frame alive and help chase Kansas City starter Brady Singer.

The next inning, he had to come out of the game.

"Initially, he thought it was a cramp in his hamstring," Hinch said. "He reported it. He got it checked out a little bit. As they were evaluating him, he was still very uncomfortable. So, I took him out of the game and got evaluated."

Entering Tuesday, Greiner was hitting .222 with one home run, four RBIs, one walk and 16 strikeouts in 13 games this season.

Evan Petzold is a sports reporter at the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold. Read more on the Detroit Tigers and sign up for our Tigers newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers' Grayson Greiner likely headed to IL