Can Greene, Simon hold up back end of Tigers' rotation?

Bigger is better.

Just ask the back end of the Tigers' rotation.

Right-handers Shane Greene and Alfredo Simon climbed aboard this off-season via trades — Greene from the Yankees and Simon from the Reds.

And during Thursday's winter caravan kickoff at Comerica Park, both spoke about leaving the close quarters of their former homes to the spacious expanses of their new home.

"I think it's going to help a lot," Greene said. "I get a lot of ground balls, and I gave up I don't know how many home runs last year, but I gave up a couple, and those were my worst outings."

Greene, 26, debuted last season at the bandbox of Yankee Stadium.

"Now that I'm in a bigger yard, those games will be more limited," he said.

Greene posted a 3.78 ERA over 15 games — 14 starts — in his rookie season. He struck out 81 in 782/ 3 innings and relishes the opportunity to exceed expectations in the fifth spot of the rotation.

"I'm one of my worst critics," he said. "I have a lot of high expectations for myself, and they're probably higher than most people's expectations for me."

Simon, 33, is expected by the Tigers to repeat his career season of 2014 — his first full year as a starting pitcher — that saw him earn an All-Star berth with the Reds.

"I'm happy to be here," he said. "Detroit has a good team and has good hitters and has a big ballpark."

Simon, too, is leaving a smaller yard for the deep outfield alleys of Comerica Park.

But in three seasons with Cincinnati, which plays at the Great American Ballpark, Simon fared well, posting a 3.16 ERA in 131 games.

In 2014, he went 15-10 with a 3.44 ERA and 127 strikeouts in 1961/ 3 innings.

He pitched much better in the first half than second — 2.70 ERA to 4.52 — but said he didn't tire down the stretch.

"Not really," he said. "I have a great arm, and last year nothing bad happened to me, and this year I'll just try to do the same here and help the team."

Questions surround Simon and Greene.

Can Simon repeat his performance, pitching against an extra batter in the American League?

"I've done it before," he said, referring to his four seasons with the Orioles (5.18 ERA) in 2008-11.

Was Greene's performance for real? He had a 4.64 ERA with Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes Barre before his call-up late in the season.

"The beginning of the season was pretty rocky at Triple-A," he said. "I felt really good every time I went out, the numbers and results just weren't there, and I turned it on a little bit after that."

And coupled with the other questions in the rotation — Will Justin Verlander bounce back? Can Anibal Sanchez stay healthy? — for the first time in a long time, the Tigers don't have a fivesome they can be sure of.

If the track records don't bode well for the two newcomers, their surroundings do, and if they can settle into them like the team hopes, those questions will be answered with a "We told you so."

But until they are, all they can do is hope.

Contact Anthony Fenech: afenech@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @anthonyfenech.