Evan Petzold | Detroit Free Press
LAKELAND, Fla. — Detroit Tigers catcher Grayson Greiner suffered a fractured nose Sunday upon being hit in the face with a 94 mph fastball from Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Elvis Luciano. He walked off the field on his own power with a towel over his nose.
The 28-year-old was evaluated by “multiple doctors,” the team announced Monday, and did not need reconstruction. He is expected to miss one week before returning to in-game action amid a battle for the backup catcher spot.
Greiner posted a message Monday afternoon on Twitter: “Update: 94 to the face doesn’t feel great! Thank you for the countless calls, texts, and messages the past 24 hours. All things considered, I was extremely fortunate to come of this with only a broken nose. Cannot wait to be back on the field with my teammates and coaches!”
[ Detroit Tigers stock watch: Breaking down the race for backup catcher ]
This spring, Greiner is 3-for-4 with one RBI, four walks and one strikeout in five games. He is competing for the backup job — against Jake Rogers, Dustin Garneau and Eric Haase — behind starting catcher Wilson Ramos.
Greiner possesses a career .194 batting average, eight home runs and 39 RBIs in 106 games across parts of three MLB seasons. He played 18 games and hit .118 in the shortened 2020 campaign.
[ Detroit Tigers spring observations: 10 surprises and frustrations through three weeks ]
Evan Petzold is a sports reporter at the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold.