CINCINNATI — Only five starts into his return from elbow surgery, Reds starting pitcher Hunter Greene went on the 15-day injured list Wednesday after experiencing right elbow soreness.
Greene, who had an MRI on Wednesday morning, is headed to Los Angeles for a second opinion from Dr. Neal ElAttrache. It was ElAttrache who performed the arthroscopic surgery to remove bone chips from Greene's elbow on March 11.
“He threw his side [bullpen] yesterday, had some soreness," president of baseball operations Nick Krall said. "He came out of his side and we sent him to the doctor first thing this morning.”
Krall declined to discuss the results of Greene's MRI tests.
“I’m not going to go into that until we have the other doctor’s opinion. We’ll talk through it to the doctors," Krall said.
There is also no immediate timetable for how long Greene could be out, with less than two months remaining in the season.
"We just have to wait to get the results from Dr. ElAttrache," Krall said.
Greene turns 27 on Thursday and was also supposed to start that afternoon's game vs. the A's. A replacement starter wasn't immediately named, but it appears that Andrew Abbott could move up a day to take the start. The Reds recalled righty Luis Mey from Triple-A Louisville in a corresponding move.
Since making his season debut for the Reds on July 4, Greene's performances have been a mixed bag. He has a 6.83 ERA in his five games, with his best game being on July 10 vs. the Cubs, when he struck out 12 over seven scoreless innings.
On Friday vs. the Pirates in his last start, Greene pitched six innings and got a no-decision after allowing four runs, seven hits and two walks with four strikeouts and one home run.
Before Monday's Trade Deadline, there was a soft market for Greene, who was signed to a six-year, $53 million contract on April 18, 2023. He is due to make $15 million in 2027 and $16 million in 2028 with a $21 million club option for 2029 that has a $2 million buyout.
A 2024 All-Star and the second overall selection in the 2017 Draft, Greene's talent has long been considered elite. But it's been overshadowed by his inability to stay on the field as he's been on the IL in each of his five seasons since his 2022 big league debut. He also had Tommy John surgery on his right elbow in 2018 while in the Minors.
During the 2025 season, there were two injury list stints for a right groin strain, with the second instance putting him out for two and a half months. But he was 7-4 with a 2.76 ERA in 19 starts and notched 132 strikeouts over 107 2/3 innings last season.
In 2024, a bruised right elbow cost Greene five weeks on the IL in the second half of the season. Right hip pain sidelined him for two months in 2023. A right shoulder strain kept him out for six weeks in 2022.
“He’s had a couple of elbow things throughout this season," Krall said. "He’s had some other stuff throughout the last couple of seasons. We know we’re going to get him on the right track and get him back. Hopefully he’ll be in games sooner rather than later.”