It’s been quite some time since we checked in with Detroit Lions fans regarding their opinion of general manager Brad Holmes. The last time we polled our audience was almost exactly a year ago, following the team’s 2025 NFL Draft. Unfortunately, those poll results were lost to time (and a migration to a new content management system at SB Nation).
Detroit, MI
Riley Greene won’t play in 2026 WBC after turning down Puerto Rico
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On “Days of Roar,” Evan Petzold and Chris Brown break down the Detroit Tigers’ opportunistic approach to targeting pitchers ahead of spring training.
Detroit Tigers outfielder Riley Greene won’t participate in the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
The 25-year-old declined an invitation from Team Puerto Rico, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. He wanted to compete for Team USA – as he did as a teenager at the 2018 Pan-American Championships – but he didn’t receive an invitation.
He also turned down Team Puerto Rico for the 2023 WBC.
Greene is eligible to play for Puerto Rico through his mother, Lisa Greene.
“I know it would be a transition for him, being able to share the same clubhouse with a lot of Latino guys,” Carlos Beltrán, a Hall of Fame outfielder and Team Puerto Rico’s general manager, said Dec. 9 regarding his recruitment pitch. “We can be loud, but at the end of the day, it’s going to be fun.”
The WBC starts March 5 and ends March 17.
Therefore, Greene will spend all of spring training with the Tigers in Lakeland, Florida, preparing for Opening Day on March 26 against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park in San Diego.
The first full-squad workout is Feb. 15 at the Tigers’ complex.
Greene – the No. 5 overall pick in the 2019 draft – has the potential to develop into a superstar player in the 2026 season after back-to-back All-Star appearances in 2024-25. He became one of 11 MLB players to hit at least 36 home runs in 2025, though he also set a franchise record with 201 strikeouts in 157 games.
Cleaning up his 30.7% strikeout rate is the best path to superstardom, but Team Puerto Rico wanted him for his proven power production.
Instead, they’ll have to find it elsewhere.
“It would be incredible,” Beltrán said. “He is a run producer. He’s very talented. I love the way he plays. He plays hard, and he has a lot of passion. I would be very excited to come out with him – because he’s a power bat.”
For the 2026 WBC, Toronto Blue Jays outfielder George Springer won’t play for Team Puerto Rico, but Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Nolan Arenado will participate. Springer and Arenado were born in the United States, but they’re eligible for both Team USA and Team Puerto Rico through family ties – just like Greene.
Arenado represented Team USA in 2017 and 2023, but Team USA didn’t invite him in 2026.
That’s why he switched to Team Puerto Rico.
“I’ve already had some pretty harsh DMs coming at me by some people,” Arenado said Jan. 27 on the “Foul Territory” show. “I had a couple of people say I’m a traitor. I’m like, ‘Listen, I didn’t get asked to play for USA.’ It’s baseball. It’s not a big deal. I’m excited to play for Puerto Rico, and if we end up playing USA, I think that’d be pretty cool.”
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Team Puerto Rico – managed by MLB legend Yadier Molina, a former teammate of Arenado with the St. Louis Cardinals – will compete in Pool A at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico, alongside Cuba, Canada, Panama and Colombia. The top two teams from each of the four pools will advance to the single-elimination bracket.
The 2026 WBC championship is March 17 at loanDepot Park in Miami.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
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4Warn Weather – SATURDAY: Mostly cloudy skies. A chance of showers and thunderstorms. A few storms could be strong with gusty winds and hail. High: 71.
SATURDAY NIGHT: Mostly cloudy skies, becoming partly cloudy skies late. Low: 45.
SUNDAY (MOTHER’S DAY): Mix of sunshine and clouds, cooler temperatures. High: 61.
SUNDAY NIGHT: Partly cloudy skies. Another chilly night. Low: 41.
MONDAY: Mostly sunny skies, remaining chilly. High: 58.
After a beautiful end to the week on Friday with sunshine and a little cloud cover, with warmer temperatures moving into the region as well, some of us are waking up to some patchy dense fog on Saturday morning. Some places south of M-59 are seeing reduced visibilities down to around a mile. If you do run into some patchy dense fog, be sure to use your low beams.
That warming trend continues into the start of the weekend on Saturday, but it also brings a chance of showers and thunderstorms. Another cold front will work through the region by Saturday afternoon and early Saturday evening and that will bring our thunderstorm chance. High temperature is warming into low 70s by Saturday afternoon.
The Storm Prediction Center has placed most of the region under a Marginal Risk (1 out of 5) on our severe weather scale for the start of the weekend. Gusty winds and hail are the primary threats as we work through the start of the weekend, but this will not be a widespread threat for severe thunderstorms.
Behind that cold front for the end of the weekend on Sunday, we will keep a mixture of sunshine and clouds into the forecast. High temperatures running about 10 to 15° cooler to end the weekend. Expect high to warm into the upper 50s to lower 60s by Sunday afternoon.
Drier weather sticks around for the start of next week, before another chance of rain moves into the region by the time we get to Tuesday. The cooler-than-average temperatures will continue into the start of next week as well. Expect high temperatures to remain in the 50s for Monday and Tuesday.
Temperature start to warm up by the middle of next week, and Drier weather moves back in by Wednesday behind another cold front moving into the region. Expect high temperatures into the lower 60s on Wednesday to warm into the upper 60s by the time we get to Thursday. Above average temperatures move back into the region as we look ahead into the end of the week, expect high temperatures back into the lower 70s by the time we get to Friday.
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But as you can see below, Holmes has been an extremely popular figure among Detroit sports fans for pretty much his entire career.
Although, if there was a time when Holmes’ popularity took a hit, it was likely during the 2025 NFL season, when the Lions took their first clear step back since he and Dan Campbell came to town.
Since last year’s data was lost to time, this is a good opportunity to check back in with Lions fans. While Holmes certainly deserves a ton of credit for getting the Lions back to relevancy and helping them produce four consecutive seasons with winning records, there are some serious blemishes on his resumé now. The 2024 NFL Draft class has not lived up to his high standards through two seasons, some of his riskiest picks over the last few years have all failed to pay off, and last year’s roster just wasn’t good enough to withstand the injuries.
But Holmes is also coming off a very crowd-pleasing draft. Detroit addressed their two biggest needs with their first two selections, and there were no crazy head-scratching picks or expensive trade ups. Many have categorized his latest draft as “back to business as usual,” which could have some fans he lost back on his side.
However, that is all up to you. Vote on your thoughts about Holmes’ time in Detroit below, and share your extended thoughts in the comment section at the bottom of the page.
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