Reds ace Hunter Greene will undergo surgery to remove bone chips from his right elbow today, per Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer. The team is hoping to have him back at some point in July. He’ll be placed on the 60-day injured list whenever Cincinnati needs to open a spot on the 40-man roster.
The Reds revealed late last week that they’d sent Greene for multiple waves of imaging and hoped to have further news early this week. Greene himself said at the time that he’s navigated bone spurs for some time but had recently received a clean MRI on his ulnar collateral ligament. Doctors hadn’t recommended surgery for the bone chips until this point. He experienced some pain late last season, and doctors recommended an injection at the time. That allowed Greene to have a normal offseason, but he experienced renewed discomfort upon ramping up in camp and will now head under the knife.
Greene is far from the only pitcher in MLB to pitch through some known bone spurs or loose bodies in his elbow. Most professional pitchers have some degree of wear and tear in their elbow and/or shoulder, be it bone chips or mild damage to a ligament, flexor tendon, rotator cuff, labrum, etc. Reds fans will surely feel frustration that the discomfort dates back to last season but is being addressed in 2026. Surgery is a last-resort option, however, and hadn’t been recommended until this latest wave of discomfort set in.
Losing Greene is a gut-punch for a Reds rotation that had looked like one of the game’s strongest, on paper. He was in line to start Opening Day and be followed by Andrew Abbott, Nick Lodolo, Brady Singer and one of Chase Burns or Rhett Lowder, both former top-10 picks in the draft and highly touted top prospects. Greene’s injury now opens the door for both Burns and Lowder to make the staff — particularly after Chase Petty was optioned yesterday — although left-hander Brandon Williamson remains in camp and could be an option as he returns from a 2025 season lost to injury.
A former No. 2 overall draft pick, Greene has been one of the game’s best pitchers on a rate basis over the past two seasons. However, he’s also missed considerable time due to a pair of groin strains in 2025 and some elbow discomfort in 2024. He’s started 45 games across dating back to ’24 and worked to a 2.76 ERA with a 29.2% strikeout rate, 8.1% walk rate and 33.5% ground-ball rate. Last year’s 15.4% swinging-strike rate was fourth-best in MLB (min. 100 innings pitched), trailing only Tarik Skubal, Dylan Cease and Logan Gilbert.
Greene is entering the fourth season of a six-year, $53MM extension. The 26-year-old is being paid $8MM this season before making $15MM and $16MM in 2027-28. The Reds hold a $21MM club option (with a $2MM buyout) over his 2029 season. With Greene on the shelf to begin the year, Abbott has been named the Reds’ Opening Day starter. President of baseball operations Nick Krall said last week at the time Greene was being sent for an MRI that he didn’t envision turning to free agency even in the event that Greene would be sidelined for a significant period of time.
Take as much time as you need Hunter.
He’s taken like 4 yrs at this point
That’s because he’s needed 4 years. Wish he didn’t get hurt so often, I’m sure he feels the same way.
I guess it’s too late to trade Hunter Greene now?
Should have traded him.
I suppose it’s inappropriate to ask where those bone chips were last November?
Liberal hoax? Probably.
They were in cancun
Cant let an injury ruin your vacation/offseason
Just worry about it in march! And still get paid! And get another vacation! Win win baby its great to be a professional athlete
They knew he had them I believe. I’ve always wondered why these kinds of things aren’t addressed at the beginning of the offseason.
That actually was addressed in the story I’m sure you read carefully before commenting on: “Reds fans will surely feel frustration that the discomfort dates back to last season but is being addressed in 2026. Surgery is a last-resort option, however, and hadn’t been recommended until this latest wave of discomfort set in.”
I’m just gonna take a wild shot here not being a DR. and all but it sure seems as a layman that it’s not a real good idea to have bone bits floating around in your elbow if you’re a Major League Pitcher. All I can think of are bad things that can happen. So why not take up prevention especially when the cure is a minimum invasion arthroscopy to flush the pieces out? I understand not wanting surgery, But this isn’t really surgery is it?
@Unclemike There really is no minimally invasive when it comes to a major joint such as an elbow. Every little incision causes some degree of scar tissue which can reduce range of motion.
It by all means is a surgery. And any loss in range of motion is exponentially worse for a pro athlete. What would be a negligible difference for the average person could cause be enough to destroy a pro athletes career.
Bryce Miller also had bone chips in his elbow last year. He was given a couple of injections of some gel and that seemed to help him get ready for the playoffs. Everyone’s different though, Miller’s situation might have been less severe. I’m betting the Reds and Greene tried all kinds of other things throughout the offseason to try fixing it before camp and it just didn’t pan out.
@Jarred Those injections just create a temporary cushion and last for at most 6 months. Ive only heard of them being used to create a cushion between where the 2 bones meet. So Id imagine it was injected to gap the bone chips. Id have to assume this is is not always possible and depends on where the chips are in proximity to the joint, their size, and the number of them.
I had 1 series of these injections in my knee last summer. Felt great and bought me time so I was not recovering when it was nice out. That was for a torn a meniscus.
Bone chips are typically a sign of stress to the elbow. Miller has not had TJS like Greeene has had. Id imagine Miller’s elbow doesnt have the same wear and tear as Greene.
What do your prefer with your Bone Chips: Bone Salsa or Bone Queso?
Should have traded him when they had the chance. They won’t be able to afford him longterm. I feel the same way about Skenes. Mets should have emptied the farm for him. Peralta is nice but Skenes is could be one of the best ever
They gave him an early extension. Yes they won’t have him for ten years, but they’ll have some time with him. Should every team that’s not a huge market just trade all their good players since they can’t afford them as free agents? Try to win while you have them.
Skenes wasn’t available. He’s the very definition of untouchable.
Skenes is hardly untouchable. Absent Griffin turning into Bobby Witt Jr. AND the addition of considerable major league talent (not the garbage heap Lowe’s and Ozuna’s of the world), he’d have no incentive to stay. Even if they somehow back the Brinks truck up for him. Fact of the matter is they aren’t a serious team by any metric
He’s untouchable now.
Something tells me you’re not a fan of the Pirates?
Garbage heap? Lowe was a good move and cherington deserves some credit for trying to improve the offense. He made offers to a lot of free agents that were competitive and they still did alright with most of those getting turned down. As a red Sox fan, I wish breslow had traded for Lowe.
Lowe is a decent 1.5-2.5 WAR guy. O’Hearn is in a similar vein, if we’re assuming last year was an 80% outcome. Those two representing the peak of your team’s production is not the sign of a competitive ballclub
Considering where they were last year, adding a couple of 2ish WAR bats who can mash is a huge improvement. With that pitching staff of theirs, they just need an average offense to be competitive.
Cruz, Horwitz, and Griffin are projected to have a higher WAR than either of them. So adding 1.5-2.5 WAR guys to a lineup that already has three other productive hitters is pretty good.
And I don’t know why we are projecting O’Hearn to have 80% of outcome? Unless you want to do that with Josh Naylor and other 3 WAR 1B from last year?
I think their contract for him is quite the steal, honestly. Prior to knowing of these injuries, if they had to go to arbitration with him they’d likely pay him more than the $53M they’re paying him, and certainly more for his first year of free agency. And they’ll likely get him a huge return at the trade deadline in 2028 if he’s healthy and they’re not contending.
spoken like a true moron. 3 years + and option year left on contract…..at a bargain rate. so…..they won’t be able to afford him in 2030? Great observation
The user name shows the perspective. All large market fans think they should get all the good players and not wait for free agency.
Is Bone Guacamole an option?
It’ll cost extra
For the best frontman of all time, anything is an option, sir.
Bone Queso = my new band name…
Expected something like this. Hopefully he will be back to form and stay on the field after this is all done. I think July is overly optimistic, though. The Reds tend to undersell when it comes to saying how long they will be out.
Yelp. If the Reds say July they mean 2027.
reds….not the worst news at all. structure is sound….2nd half fresh Greene does not suck….whos gonna get a better “trade deadline ” arm? answer: nobody
I have learned not to listen to the Reds time frame and expect to see them when I see them. But yes, a great add whenever he comes back.
fair enough Reds….lets get this season going already….lots of optimism in the queen city
See you in 2027 or in 2028 if there is a lockout.
seriously. This is not a “couple of months” kind of thing. That sounds wildly optimistic.
Combine all the bone chips from Spencer Schwellenbach, Huston Waldrep, and Hunter Green and you could probably make a new elbow
Rodon as well.
Thanks for waiting 5 1/2 months after the season ended to take care of this since you said it was a problem the last month of the season.
Most guys get their bone chips cleaned up in the off season instead of the wait and see approach.
We have seen this a lot with the Reds over the years though with pitchers, “oh he just needs rest, not surgery” and then during the season suddenly a guy is missing the year.
In Reds speak “July” means out for the season.
We will see what Rhett Lowder and Chase Burns are made of. Best case is we won’t really miss him.
not true
Lowder was expected back in May last year. He next pitched in the fall league. True story
Damn shame he can never stay healthy. One of the best arms in the game too. Maybe his career will be beneficial if he moves to a closer if this keeps occuring.
Quick recovery young man… But I can’t help but think, another pitcher linked to Boston in trade rumors…first Ryan now Greene all the while…..Duran could hit Sandy and Bob in their prime right now…( not Brais) some of the best trades are ones not made….
Greene wasn’t gonna be traded imo, certainly not for Duran. And if he actually makes it back healthy in July it’ll be perfect timing for the team.
Goodbye season, Reds.
Lmao. Greene miss half a season, EVERY SEASON. Any success the Reds have had was not based around Greene. In fact, Greene is building a track record of not being able to show out for a big spotlight moment type game. Reds have now solved their problem of figuring out the hardest decision spring training baseball has to offer: Burnes OR Lowder? Now it’s Burnes AND Lowder
Which always resulted in the season going down the drain. So what’s your point?
They had 83 wins last season and they’re better now so…
This sucks!
This news provides plenty of opportunity for all the posters on this site whose sole purpose is to condemn the Reds organizatio from top to bottom . That ground will be covered. Otoh, it could be pointed out that not trading Brady Singer or Nick Lodolo is very wise in retrospect. If the Reds are incontention post ASB, Greene’s return to the rotation should be a big help. If they are not in contention, it won’t really matter when he returns. There’s just a lot of opportunity for Burns, Lowder, Williamson, Aguiar, and Petty between now and then.
If the Reds front office wasn’t always doing stupid things commenters wouldn’t have such an opportunity.
Giants dangled Eldridge out there. Him and Ramos wouldn’t made the perfect package for Greene. Reds FO thou…..
you gotta be kidding….
Fans dangled Eldridge. Myself included. Not sure anyone at the Giants did.
I was thinking it would provide plenty of opportunity for posters whose sole purpose is to condemn flamethrowing pitchers and the injuries they get, allegedly because they’re throwing too hard. And to then mention how those old timey pitchers used to throw 500 innings a year without missing a beat.
The best ability is availability.
@HoleCamels. Do you really think the Pirates are trying to win and done enough to keep Skenes long term? Pirates need to spend more on better players. Skenes won’t be their longterm with Pittsburgh track record. So why not trade him now to the highest bidder. Get 4-5 good players for one great Skenes. Those 5 players would fill a lot of holes and could actually be a better team without him.
That’s the typical blather we get from Yankees fans. I’ll salute you in not naming the “4 or 5 good players” in your posting as others often do. Those names are often good for laughs
And that’s the rub. Everyone wants Skenes. Everyone uses your logic. But no franchise is gonna back up the truck and place a large number of its top prospects in the back
You’re right. They aren’t going to be able to keep Skenes in the future. And if Griffin pans out, it’s likely they’ll lose him eventually too. That’s just large market versus small market reality. For the time being though, I’m gonna enjoy seeing them in Pirates uniforms
Hey. Why was this comment here anyway?
And even if they don’t win Skenes will be more of an attraction than those 4-5 good players they’d be getting.
Nick Castellanos approves this message. /s
Greene is so good. But why can’t he just stay healthy?
The ability to stay healthy is itself as much a skill of the game. Some guys just aren’t built to have that.
I wonder in how many cases a serious injury is caused by game motions (e.g., going 100% on every pitch, tweaking mechanics to get more spin, etc.) vs not putting in the right work in stretching and training vs just bad luck. Obviously, there are some freak injuries that nobody can do much to avoid, like when a liner is hit right back at a pitcher, but for others (not saying this one, just others), I wonder how many are preventable.
The human body is not designed to toss with full exertion objects repeatedly. It should be no surprise that injuries will occur even with the optimal mechanics/motion and delivery.
Lucas Giolito can’t stay healthy either, but every day we have ABS and the rest of them telling us how someone should sign him to a nice contract.
Hunter “Half Season” Greene
Brutal news, sorry to hear for Hunter and for Reds.
Not even a Reds fan and I think this sucks. Hope he comes back strong!
Apparently Tito has told reporters Greene never said anything to him last year. If so, this is totally on Greene. The team can’t see about what they don’t know about.
This article states that doctors looked at his elbow last year, so the team was certainly aware
No bones about it
From Cincinnati reporter Charlie Goldsmith:
Greene dealt with elbow discomfort during the final month of the 2025 season.
“He never told me (directly) any of that,” Francona said. “I know he has mentioned it to (pitching coach Derek Johnson). He was always telling me he was good. I liked the way he was pitching. The trainers, we’re never going to send somebody out there if they shouldn’t pitch or play. Ever. It’s hard sometimes. If you sat everybody, you’d never have a team. You can’t see inside peoples’ bodies. It can be a little difficult.”
Late in October of 2025, Greene met with Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who recommended a PRP injection.
So…apparently Greene did his own thing and didn’t involve the team’s medical staff.
I want to make clear that I’m not trying to argue with you, but there isn’t anything from Goldsmith’s passage that indicates Greene was acting independently. He just didn’t express to Francona directly that he had elbow discomfort. The pitching coach knew, though, so the team was aware of how Greene felt. And presumably they’d be aware of his meeting with ElAttrache, if not outright arranging it
Exactly. The notion that he met with a sports injury super doctor without them organising it is ridiculous.
If they did this without the manager’s knowledge, then that’s even a bigger problem within the organization.
If Francona truly had no knowledge about any of it until this week (the discomfort, the doctor visit, the renewed discomfort, etc.), then I agree with you. But I just cannot imagine that’s the case
really? I think its great news!
Trevor Bauer would pitch for the league minimum. If the Reds don’t have an answer in the organization (btw I think they do) then Bauer makes more sense than trying to make a trade.
Dude is so 3 years ago.
Can’t figure out why people still bring him up. No stickem = No good. Trevor is toast.
Ron Paul 2012!
At least Bauer got some media coverage, unlike Paul
Yeah, who wouldn’t want a 35-year-old SP who had a 4.5 ERA last season in a league that averaged 3.0?
Reds, Giolito still out there. Do it
Walker Buehler is a local guy and he signed a minor league deal. Reds missed out big on him
Apparently Krall shot down getting a free agent, sounds like Phil hid the checkbook.
Where else you gonna go, indeed.
Speakin’ of injured pitchers …
He’s gotta better resume then Greene 🤷♂️
I’m frustrated but not surprised that this wasn’t dealt with at 2025 season end. Last year with the groin issue, the front office seemed to have a different opinion of when he was actually “ready” to play again. That resonated with me. With that and this, his history of injury, I’ll take whatever heat comes at me but I do question his toughness.
Baseball has changed a lot in the last 50 years. We went from expecting pitchers to complete games, then to go seven and then bring in the setup guy and then the Closer, to talking about “quality starts” of 6 innings/no more than three runs. Then to 30 starts 150 IP–there were only 52 pitchers in all of baseball last year who qualified for the ERA title. Then we expect them to throw max–no pacing, no mixing it up, just velocity and spin. Then we get angry with them when they get hurt–or don’t immediately go under the knife so they could possibly return earlier.
Knew it was there 6 months ago
More likelythat Greene could absolutely Meane if the Reds get that far come October.
I mean at this point, that’s like the best case scenario if he makes it to the mound in July/August. I expected him done for the season.
Giolito to the Reds?
He’s going to be to expensive. I’d say he’s holding out for 20 mil or near enough
Burns is already better than Greene and is a lock for rotation. How big of a step down is Lowder from Greene ? Definitely a couple notches but I don’t think this hurts to bad. Reds need some other guys to breakout more than Greene being top 3 pitcher in the league
Reds season over before it starts
Matt Cain had this surgery and he was never the same. I hope his outcome is different.
I’m debating having the same surgery in my non-dominant arm. One second you’re as good as it gets – and then, “BAM!”, searing pain radiating from your elbow down your arm. I can only imagine how brutal this has been for Greene knowing what I’ve been dealing with (and not as a professional athlete). You don’t even know you have pain until you extend your arm out.
Imagine walking your dog and you’re talking on your cell phone. You end the call, you place the phone in your pocket, and you casually drop your arm down so it’s parallel with your legs as you continue walking. Extending your arm out to 180 degrees vice having it at a 90 degree or even a 135 degree angle will set your elbow/arm on fire due to the bone spurs. It’s insanity to me – and I played DI football. Now imagine extending your arm EVERY single time you throw a pitch. Misery…
The dude is glass. On the podcast baseball today and I think it was barstool, they were trying to argue he was elite and a top 5 pitcher. In one arguing he was better than Chris sale. Not only can he not stay on the field long enough to support that argument, his #s don’t show it either. Does he have the god given talent to be that good, yes. But has he been? No
I ran a marathon with a torn meniscus. That was horrible.
I pitched for two years with a broken bone in my wrist. Couldn’t throw breaking balls. Wasn’t as horrible. I learned a bunch of different fastballs and changeups.
I completely stopped running when I got Lyme Disease. That led to double hip replacement. That was a game changer. I run 800 miles a year now, about half as much as before Lyme.
Get the surgery! Work your way back and be the best version of yourself.