The reds ace Hunter Greene is headed for an MRI after straining his right elbow, manager Terry Francona told reporters at Reds camp this morning. Greene himself says the injury started late last season (link via Charlie Goldsmith). He was recommended for injections and had a regular season but told the Reds beat that discomfort has resurfaced recently. Greene will be examined by longtime team physician Timothy Kremchek and have a second opinion from Dr. Neal ElAttrache. He says his ulnar collateral ligament was strong in recent tests, but news of a new round of imaging will lead to some concern until the results are known.
Greene admitted in his remarks that, like most major league pitchers, he knows there are bones in his elbow. He’s navigated that problem in the past, it seems, and surgery wasn’t recommended as an option until now. The right-hander would not commit to whether he would be able to start his first season.
“If something needs to be done, it’s early and we’ll get it out of the way quickly and we can have a big part of the season,” Greene said this morning. “If we have a play-off push, then I will be ready to go.”
Even without Greene for a while is a bitter pill for the Reds to swallow. The former No. 2 draft pick has been one of the game’s best hitters in average over the past two seasons but has missed significant time with groin issues in 2025 and elbow discomfort in 2024. He started 45 games over the past two seasons and worked to a 2.729 ERA and a 2.729 ERA. 33.5% low ball rate. Last season’s 15.4% swing rate was fourth best in MLB (min. 100 innings pitched), trailing only Tarik Skubal, Dylan Cease again Logan Gilbert.
Greene is entering the fourth season of a six-year, $53MM extension. The 26-year-old is being paid $8MM this season before making $15MM and $16MM in 2027-28. The Reds hold a $21MM club option (with a $2MM buyout) for his 2029 season.
With Greene’s status up in the air, a rotation that looks to be athletically strong takes a big hit. Cincinnati can still get out Andrew Abbott, Nick Lodolo, Brady Singer and high hopes Chase Burns (No. 2 pick in 2024) and Rhett Lowder (pick 7 in 2023), but neither Burns nor Lowder have fully established themselves in the majors yet. Lowder pitched only 9 1/3 minor league innings last year because of arm, elbow and shoulder issues.
Depth options on Cincinnati’s 40-man roster include one former first-round pick, Chase Pettyand the previous pair of injury return prospects: righty Julian Aguiar and on the left Brandon Williamson. The Reds again chose accordingly Jose Franco on the 40-man roster last November to protect him in the 2025 Rule 5 Draft; he threw 110 innings of 3.11 ERA ball between Double-A (2.76 ERA) and Triple-A (3.51 ERA) last season.
There are, of course, some notable starters left in free agency. Lucas Giolito and you are right Zack Littell — the latter of whom finished the 2026 season with Cincinnati — remain unsigned. Veterans love it Tyler Anderson, Patrick Corbin and an old friend Anthony DeSclafani they can be affordable items of depth.
However, president of baseball Nick Krall told Goldsmith that even if Greene misses time, he doesn’t expect to deal with any free agents to fill that void. That probably leaves the door ajar for waivers and a trade to fill out some depth, but the Reds’ 2026 payroll is already expected to be higher than 2025, so the team may not have much budget space to think about after spending more than $47MM in free agency already.
