Cincinnati Reds pitcher Hunter Greene has been on the job all season, but the job has been rehabbing, so the work he’s put in has largely been out of sight.
Since mid-March surgery to address bone spurs in his throwing elbow, Greene’s been in the months-long and ongoing process of building back up to game form. For the first time since the regular season started, the process this week brought Greene back to his locker in the Reds clubhouse at Great American Ball Park.
Back in Cincinnati for the Reds’ homestand against the Atlanta Braves (May 29-31) and the Kansas City Royals (June 1-3), Greene is donning team gear and throwing again. His first side bullpen session took place May 26 at the club’s Player Development Complex in Goodyear, Arizona, and it will continue in the Queen City.
Greene was scheduled for a second bullpen Friday, May 29, and a third on Monday, June 1, and those appointments are his focus for the time being, he said.
Greene said he was still on schedule for the previously-prescribed return, which could happen in mid-to-late July. At one point during his May 29 remarks, Greene also noted he felt he was ahead of schedule for at least part of his ongoing rehab.
Greene described his initial bullpen session as great, adding: “As professionals, we’re so used to pushing through discomfort and once the discomfort’s gone, you’re like ‘this is what this is supposed to feel like,’ so that’s the situation.”
“There’s a lot of different mental things and trying to stay sharp,” Greene said. “Every time I’ve had to rehab, there’s a different perspective that I get, and my situation is not nearly as daunting or bad as I feel compared to other guys. Other guys who aren’t prospects or don’t have a fast-track to the big leagues, or are just in a little bit of a different situation where they might not have a home to come to like I have right now, which is Cincinnati and being around my teammates, being around staff.”
Reds manager Terry Francona said he loved that Greene was doing as well as he was, adding he didn’t feel it was necessary to set public expectations on when Greene might return.
“As far as the schedule goes, we’re gonna do what’s right by him,” Francona said. “When he’s ready, we will certainly welcome him back, but by me saying, ‘hey, we can cut it by two weeks,’ that’s not gonna help anything.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Reds ace Hunter Greene is back in Cincinnati and throwing again
Reporting by Pat Brennan, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
