Cincinnati Reds pitcher Hunter Greene at the 2024 MLB All-Star Game
The Reds’ top player was the pitcher in the fifth inning of the game.
Just four days before going on the injured list with elbow soreness, Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Hunter Greene declared himself an ace. Greene looked more confident than ever. He was an All-Star, in the conversation for the Cy Young Award. He was the hardest pitcher to hit in the National League. For the past two months, he’s been basically untouchable.
After the game, Greene was asked if he was an ace.
“I have already decided to become one,” he said.
The Reds have pinned their playoff hopes on Greene winning important games for them. He will miss at least the next 15 games.
Greene underwent an MRI on Saturday night, with Reds manager David Bell saying it was “a little bit early” to provide a final update.
“I would say everything is fine at first, from what I’ve heard,” Bell said. “It’ll be at least 15 days. I think there’s a lot of hope of getting him back after that.”
Greene declined to comment.
In a Reds season marked by inconsistency, one of the only things the team could rely on was Greene’s strong starts every fifth day. He showed no signs of fatigue in his last start.
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In that win over the St. Louis Cardinals, Greene saved his fastest pitches for the most important moments, reaching 100 miles per hour in the seventh inning.
Later that night, Greene complained of pain. He felt better the next day, tried to play catch on Saturday, and then felt pain in his elbow again.
Elbow injuries are always a concern, especially at a time when most of the hardest-throwing starting pitchers are on the injured list. After Saturday’s MRI, the Reds are optimistic for now.
“Hopefully this is just a little setback and he continues to grow,” said Nick Krall, the Reds’ president of baseball operations. “He’s been great this year. When I talked to him, it was difficult to have that conversation with him. He understood it, too. That was the best way we could do it.”
Losing Greene for any period of time is a major blow to the Reds’ playoff hopes. They were four games out of a wild-card spot entering Saturday and had very little margin for error with 40 games left in the season.
Despite some of the Reds’ best players missing long stretches of the season due to injury and several key players taking a big step back from their career years in 2023, the starting lineup has kept the Reds’ playoff ambitions alive.
There were already signs that this rotation was beginning to crumble, and the fact that Greene was out for a period of time only adds to that concern.
“Every team deals with injuries,” Bell said. “We’re no different. As a team and as an organization, we’ve got to keep sticking together and find a way to deal with it. I hate it for Hunter. We don’t want to lose him for an extended period of time. Sometimes that’s almost to be expected. You have to find a way to deal with it because the next 15 games are going to be important.”
Nick Lodolo allowed eight runs in 2 1/3 innings against the Kansas City Royals on Saturday. He has allowed at least three runs in five of his last eight starts, hasn’t pitched long in games and has already thrown more innings than in any other season of his career.
Andrew Abbott has a 5.40 ERA in his last six starts, has struggled through games where he hasn’t been able to perform at his best, and in some of his recent appearances he’s seen his pitch count increase early in games.
The Reds expect both to take a step forward in the closing stages.
“We’re capable of doing something and staying in the race,” Lodolo said. “I didn’t give us a chance tonight. I’ve got to be the guy that goes out there and wins the game. I know I can do that. I’ve proven I can do that. It’s just a matter of doing that now. I can say that as many times as I want. But I really believe in it. The next step is to recover and get back on track.”
Nick Martinez has performed excellently since being reinstated into the Reds’ rotation in early August and now moves up a spot in the rotation.
Carson Spiers was technically the No. 5 starter on Saturday, but manager David Bell said the Reds might continue to use the opening night strategy when Spiers makes rotations. Spiers threw just 2 ⅔ innings in his last appearance and has a 6.43 ERA in his last six appearances.
The Reds acquired veteran pitcher Jakob Junis as part of the trade to the Milwaukee Brewers because they valued his ability to throw long innings as a relief pitcher or step into the rotation in a pinch. But Junis’ role was not what the team originally expected.
Junis, who missed some time earlier this season with a shoulder injury, hasn’t thrown more than 2 ⅓ innings in his six appearances with the Reds. He hasn’t been an innings eater and has been given limited opportunities in low-pressure situations.
Since Junis does not have the necessary starting eleven, the Reds have to bring in replacements from the minor leagues.
Entering the season, the Reds expected their starting pitchers to be a strength overall in the minor leagues. But promising pitcher Connor Phillips pitched poorly and had to move to rookie ball to re-evaluate. Lyon Richardson and Christian Roa moved to the bullpen, and Brandon Williamson missed the first five months of the season with a shoulder injury.
The favorite to replace Greene in the rotation appears to be Julian Aguiar, the Reds’ Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2023. Aguiar, a former 12th-round pick, shares many similarities with Spiers. Aguiar has an outstanding slider, has good control, and posted a 3.79 ERA between Double-A and Triple-A.
The Reds’ other options in Triple-A include Casey Kelly, Brandon Leibrandt and Justus Sheffield, who were out of the organization to start the season — Connor Overton — who has been a long-term reliever in Triple-A since returning from Tommy John surgery — or building Richardson back up as a starter in the MLB on the fly. Rhett Lowder, who is currently in Double-A, is not expected to be called up.
