The Cincinnati Reds may need to wait a bit longer before they can get Hunter Greene back on the mound.
The star pitcher was scratched from his minor-league rehab start on Tuesday for Triple-A Louisville after feeling renewed soreness in his troublesome right groin, Charlie Goldsmith of Fox 19 Now reported Monday.
According to the Cincinnati Inquirerâs Gordon Wittenmyer, Greene subsequently underwent an MRI.
Greene, 25, has been on the injured list since June 4 because of a Grade 1 right groin strain, and he also had an epidural to address back soreness. Prior to that, Greene was among baseballâs best pitchers, recording a 2.72 ERA in 11 starts with 73 strikeouts in 59.2 innings.
Greene listed himself as day-to-day, according to Goldsmith, but the Reds wonât fully know his status until they get back his MRI results.
Hunter Greene Has Dealt With Numerous Injuries
Capable of reaching triple digits with his fastball, Greene took a big step forward in 2024. The flamethrowing right-hander made a career-high 26 starts and turned in a 2.75 ERA, striking out 169 batters in 150.1 innings. He made the All-Star team for the first time and finished eighth in the National League Cy Young voting.
However, Green also missed more than a month with right elbow soreness.
Greene looked prime to build off his strong performance this season, but injuries havenât cooperated. He originally missed 13 games with a right groin strain from May 8-23.
He returned to make three starts before landing back on the IL before an outing on June 3 against the Milwaukee Brewers in which he exited with groin soreness after five innings.
Greene was scheduled to pitch Tuesday for Triple-A Louisville, putting him on track to possibly return Sunday against the Colorado Rockies, the final game before the All-Star break. The Reds must now hope that Greeneâs setback is only temporary.
How Have the Reds Fared this Season?
Cincinnati entered the start of a three-game series Monday against the Miami Marlins at 46-44, 8.0 games out of first place in the NL Central.
Left-hander Andrew Abbott has stepped up to carry the Redsâ rotation in Greeneâs absence, going 7-1 with a 2.15 ERA in 15 starts. Nick Lodolo (3.58 ERA) has also performed well.
Manager Terry Francona said via NBC 5 Cincinnatiâs Charlie Clifford that Greeneâs MRI was taken âout of an abundance of caution,â as they have no reason to rush their prized pitcher.
Greene, the second overall pick in the 2017 MLB Draft, signed a six-year, $53 million contract extension in 2023.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Reds Receive Troubling Injury Update on All-Star Pitcher appeared first on Heavy Sports.