The Cincinnati Reds should’ve traded Hunter Greene when they had the chance.
We tried to tell them that last summer, a handful of local media folks, including three of us who’ve covered baseball on a daily basis for nearly 60 years combined.
But the Reds remained too enamored by Greene’s talent, too attached to the idea that the former first-round pick who once graced the cover of Sports Illustrated would show up for the next several Octobers. The Reds dismissed Greene’s issues of durability and questions about his desire to win.
And now they’re stuck with an injury-prone pitcher and must face a tough reality: Greene’s best days in Cincinnati may be in the past.
Greene, 26, is hurt yet again and will be out for an extended period of time yet again. He’ll be out until at least July with bone spurs in his right elbow, effectively extending Greene’s streak of never pitching a full season in the big leagues. He’s been in the majors since 2022. The most games he’s started is 26 in the All-Star 2024 season.
The March 10 announcement that Greene would undergo surgery was met inside and outside the organization with a mix of here-we-go-again, business-as-usual and I-told-you-so reactions. There’s a sense among some that the Reds will be just fine without him.
Look, two doctors determined Greene needs surgery. Obviously, he’s hurt. The issue with this injury is the timing, and why he pushed through it when he doesn’t usually do that. Greene recently told reporters he tried to pitch through the injury over the final month of last season during the Reds’ run to the playoffs.
That came as a surprise, because Greene’s reputation was that he didn’t push through injuries. He’s been criticized the past few seasons for slow-rolling what medically were determined to be minor injuries by multiple doctors. But this injury is puzzling on many fronts. The bone spurs were discovered in late October. The injury was treated, but why didn’t he get surgery then?
Was Greene trying to change his reputation by toughing through it? This issue has never been whether he was legitimately injured. The questions had centered on the severity of his injuries since 2023, and why he was taking so long to come back.
Greene was stung by questions last season about his toughness and suggestions that the Reds needed to trade him, including from this space. That was made clear in a December interview with USA Today baseball writer Bob Knightengale, who wrote that Greene vented during their 90-minute talk.
“There were some people and chatter about questioning my timing of coming back,” Hunter told USA Today. “You know, like it took longer than it should have been. The idea that I was milking it, or taking a longer time, or the idea of not wanting to be with the team. That was so disrespectful, so disingenuous to me.”
My thoughts after reading that: Then go prove you’re a different guy in 2026.
And now here we are in an I-told-you-so moment.
There were people inside the organization last summer who were pushing for the Reds to shop Greene, who started a career-low 19 games in 2025. Reporters didn’t just make that up, as social media trolls suggested.
But the Reds decided that most teams who’d want Greene were in the same position organizationally, feeling they were one piece away from being playoff contenders and not wanting to compromise another part of the roster. The Reds needed a hitter. Another hopeful contender needed a starting pitcher. Neither side was going to compromise the big-league roster. It didn’t work.
The best trade option would’ve been to deal Greene for a haul of prospects, although the prospect of being trading may have been halted with the revelation of the bone spurs. Nonetheless, a trade could’ve freed up more money for the Reds to make a stronger offer to slugger Kyle Schwarber, who re-signed with Philadelphia.
The Reds, instead, held onto Greene hoping for more moments like Sept. 18, when he pitched a one-hit gem against the Chicago Cubs during the playoff push. Those moments have been too few and far between, though. And the Reds probably have the pitching depth to withstand not having Hunter in the rotation.
They proved it last season by going 39-33 while Greene was out. The Reds’ pitching depth is in better shape now – a point manager Terry Francona made on Tuesday – with Rhett Lowder and Brandon Williamson back from injuries and Chase Burns more experienced.
If the rotation stays healthy, will anyone notice Greene’s not there?
Contact columnist Jason Williams at jwilliams@enquirer.com
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Williams: Face it, Cincinnati Reds may’ve seen best of Hunter Greene
Reporting by Jason Williams, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
