Reds’ relievers step up as Greene (groin injury) awaits MRI exam
Reds’ relievers step up as Greene (groin injury) awaits MRI exam
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ATLANTA — Just like that on Wednesday night, Hunter Greene’s smooth start vs. the Braves came to a grinding halt because of an injury. Now the Reds will be crossing their fingers, hoping their rotation ace won’t miss significant time.
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Warming up for the top of the fourth inning, Greene made two pitches and signaled to the dugout that he could not continue because of pain in his right groin. The sudden exit took some luster off a Reds’ 4-3 victory at Truist Park that snapped their four-game losing streak.
“I felt fantastic tonight. It sucks because the momentum was great,” said Greene, who threw 53 pitches. “All of my stuff felt good. … those first two warm-up pitches, I just felt my groin grab. I just didn’t feel like I would be at my best or be able to really, honestly keep the team in it, continuing to throw if I stayed in.”
Greene, 25, pitched three scoreless innings with two hits, no walks and six strikeouts, and he had a 4-0 lead aided by a pair of TJ Friedl solo home runs to right-center field. The right-hander threw 16 triple-digit fastballs and touched 101 mph twice, including on a strike-three pitch to Alex Verdugo for the second out in the bottom of the third inning.
The Reds are sending Greene for an MRI exam in Atlanta on Thursday to determine the extent of the injury.
“We’ll know a heck of a lot more,” manager Terry Francona said. “I don’t think anything happening to him is a good thing, but I don’t think it’s bad. Having him leave the game hurts.”
Cincinnati’s bullpen had six relievers cover the final six innings, with reliever Brent Suter replacing Greene and pitching two innings with one run allowed on a Drake Baldwin homer in the fifth inning. Emilio Pagán closed it with a one-hit bottom of the ninth inning and two strikeouts for his ninth save.
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“Obviously, we were up against it, not what you’d expect coming into a Hunter Greene start,” Pagán said. “If Hunter leaves the game, it’s not a good feeling.”
Greene, a 2024 All-Star, is 4-2 with a 2.36 ERA this season. Over his 45 2/3 innings, he has eight walks compared to 61 strikeouts that ranks him third in the Major Leagues.
Injuries have piled up on the Reds lately with position players Austin Hays, Noelvi Marte and Christian Encarnacion-Strand among those on the injured list. While it remains to be seen if Greene will need to join them, each of his previous three big league seasons were interrupted by IL stints.
In 2022, Greene missed six weeks with a right shoulder strain.
A right hip injury cost Greene two months on the IL in 2023.
Last season, right elbow soreness put Greene on the IL from Aug. 14-Sept. 22.
The Reds entered Spring Training appearing to have superb starting pitcher depth. But that has already been thinned by injuries.
Rhett Lowder, ranked as the organization’s No. 2 prospect by MLB Pipeline, has yet to make his season debut as he recovers from a right elbow strain. Lowder began a rehab assignment on Tuesday with three innings at the Arizona Complex League and he is scheduled to pitch on Sunday for High-A Dayton.
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Carson Spiers, who earned a rotation spot out of camp after Andrew Abbott wasn’t ready for the season, has been out since April 20 with a right shoulder impingement.
Veteran Wade Miley was signed to a Minor League deal with the expectation he would be ready this month after rehabbing from 2024 Tommy John surgery on his elbow. However, Miley had a setback last month with his own groin injury during a rehab start. The left-hander is scheduled to return to the mound for Dayton on Saturday.
Lowder and Miley likely have several weeks to go before they could be deemed ready for big league starts.
Birthday save for Emilio!! 🔒 pic.twitter.com/zhuy7WaMfr
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) May 8, 2025
Another starter, Chase Petty (No. 6 prospect), filled in for a start during a doubleheader on April 30. Petty was roughed up for nine runs over 2 1/3 innings in a 9-1 loss to the Cardinals. The good news is Petty pitched six hitless innings in his first start back with Louisville on Tuesday.
“I’m looking forward to going out this next week or so, however long it takes to get back on the mound,” Greene said. “Obviously, I’m going to put my best foot forward on making sure I’m putting myself in the best position once I get back out there. Hopefully, I don’t have to miss any starts, but I don’t know what the future holds on this. I have to see what the MRI looks like tomorrow.”
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Senior Reporter Mark Sheldon has covered the Reds for MLB.com since 2006, and previously covered the Twins from 2001-05.
MLB execs polled on top Deadline trade candidates
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MLB execs polled on top Deadline trade candidates
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Mark Feinsand
Mark Feinsand
@feinsand
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Starting pitching will always be in demand around the league, as teams are in constant search for healthy, effective arms to take the ball every five days.
Given the scarcity of such arms, the annual Trade Deadline chatter often revolves around the few starters who become available.
Even some of the best teams in baseball would benefit from the addition of another starter, so when we asked a number of executives who would be the biggest name moved prior to July 31, it was hardly surprising that a starting pitcher received more votes than anybody else.
But a starter with an 8.42 ERA?
That shows just how much executives think of Sandy Alcantara, the 2022 National League Cy Young Award winner who returned this season after missing all of 2024 following Tommy John surgery.
Before we dive into Alcantara’s future, here’s a look at how executives answered the question:
Sandy Alcantara (12 votes)
Luis Robert Jr. (5 votes)
Nolan Arenado (1 vote)
Framber Valdez (1 vote)
Alcantara is 2-4 with that unsightly 8.42 ERA in his first seven starts, allowing 32 hits and 18 walks over 31 innings. He’s been knocked out before completing three innings in two of his past four outings, giving up seven runs in 2 2/3 innings against the Dodgers on April 29 and six runs over two innings against the Phillies on April 18. He’s gotten to the sixth inning only twice this season.
Velocity hasn’t been the issue for Alcantara, whose average fastball of 97.2 mph puts him in the 91st percentile of all pitchers. His ground-ball percentage (49.5) ranks in the 76th percentile, which is an encouraging sign, but some of his other Statcast numbers are somewhat alarming:
Chase percentage: 23.4 (15th percentile)
Strikeout percentage: 16.2 (15th percentile)
Walk percentage: 12.7 (15th percentile)
Hard-hit percentage: 48.5 (11th percentile)
Average exit velocity: 91.5 mph (11th percentile)
Executives don’t seem concerned by the early results as Alcantara finds his groove following surgery.
“The longer he is removed from the injury the better he will likely be,” an American League executive said. “At the Deadline, he could demand a pretty price with up to two-and-a-half years of control remaining on his contract.”
That contract, along with his track record, is why Alcantara figures to be an appealing asset as the season progresses. Alcantara signed a five-year, $56 million extension in November 2021, locking him in through 2026. He is earning $17.3 million this year and next, while the contract also includes a $21 million club option for 2027.
Given the exorbitant cost of starting pitching – Marcus Stroman is making $18 million this season, for example – Alcantara’s deal should be attractive to most clubs, as long as they believe he will find his old form in the near future.
“It’s not very often a Cy Young caliber starting pitcher is available on the market,” an NL executive said. “If he gets back to his old ways, he can have a major impact on who ends up the eventual World Series champion.”
The Marlins are off to another subpar start to the season, their 14-22 record leaving them in last place in a very competitive NL East. Even with three Wild Card spots, Miami’s record ranks ahead of only the Pirates and Rockies, making the idea of a postseason berth a longshot at best.
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One rival executive simply said the Marlins “need to cash him in,” and given the club’s recent teardown, there’s no reason to believe he won’t be traded as long as there are signs of improvement over the next two months.
“He is going to continue to build up and re-establish his stuff and command as he returns from TJ,” an AL executive said. “[Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix] will be motivated to continue to stock the system with as much talent as he can.”
“Do the Marlins have any other logical choice?” an NL executive said.
The bigger question might be when, not if, he’ll be dealt. A year ago, the Marlins jumped the trade market by sending Luis Arraez to the Padres on May 4. During the final week before the Deadline, Miami also traded Jazz Chisholm Jr., Tanner Scott, A.J. Puk, Josh Bell, Trevor Rogers and Bryan De La Cruz, making six deals on Deadline day.
“Alcantara would be the obvious answer if it weren’t so likely that they could trade him well before this column runs, just based on what they did last year,” an AL executive said.
The other player to receive multiple votes was Luis Robert Jr. of the White Sox, who had been widely expected to be moved during the offseason. Robert’s disappointing 2024 season – he hit 14 homers with 35 RBIs and a .657 OPS in 100 games – didn’t allow the White Sox to get the return they were seeking, and although the 27-year-old is off to a slow start this season (5 HR, 16 RBIs, .642 OPS), he’s tied for the MLB lead with 15 stolen bases, ranks among the league leaders in walks and has been solid defensively.
