Fresh off bone spur surgery, Cincinnati’s injury-prone ace faces another potential operation as questions swirl regarding the front office’s failure to trade him before the deadline.
Cincinnati Reds ace starting pitcher Hunter Greene has been placed on the injured list with right elbow soreness, the team announced Wednesday evening. Greene returned from elbow surgery in early July, just before the All-Star break.
The surgery was to remove bone spurs from his elbow, which caused him to pitch through pain during the playoffs. The decision to delay surgery until spring training, rather than undergoing the procedure shortly after the season, led him to miss a significant portion of the 2026 season.
Greene has made just five starts this season and has a 6.83 ERA. He was a major topic of conversation leading up to the trade deadline, with reports from insider Mark Feinsand indicating there was a 50/50 chance Greene would be traded. This development is exactly why many fans wanted the Reds to trade Greene and maximize the return for the injury-plagued right-hander. The odds of him passing a physical may have been low, as the MRI he underwent Wednesday morning has led to an IL stint. Reds president of baseball operations Nick Krall said Greene would fly to Los Angeles for a second opinion, as surgery appears to be a possibility.
The former first-round pick has been dominant when he has been on the mound for extended stretches, but his lengthy injury history has prevented him from becoming a consistent difference-maker for the Reds. He dealt with shoulder soreness in 2022, hip and shin issues in 2023, right elbow soreness in 2024, a groin strain in 2025, and is now dealing with more right elbow soreness after the aforementioned surgery in March.
Krall said Hunter Greene threw a side bullpen on Tuesday and felt some soreness coming out of that pitching session. This just could not be a worse break for the Reds after committing to compete this season based on their moves, or lack thereof, at the recently passed trade deadline.
Nevertheless, this is another gut punch for a Reds fan base that needs something to go its way. The front office's peculiar strategy at the trade deadline, combined with Cincinnati's last-place standing in the NL Central, is not giving Reds faithful much to cheer about. This news obviously hurts the Reds' chances of making that miracle run toward the playoffs. Nick Lodolo has been on the IL since Mid-July with a blister issue, and he will soon make his first rehab start with Triple-A, where he will try out his new slider grip.
