An entire fandom just gasped. Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher and Cy Young candidate Hunter Greene is being placed on the 15-day injured list with elbow soreness, according to MLB.com's Mark Sheldon.
Greene showed little sign of vulnerability when he tossed a gem against the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday (one run allowed and eight strikeouts in seven innings) but did feel discomfort afterwards. The Reds' recent resurgence might have just been derailed, as an unlikely postseason trip now boarders on incomprehensible.
Cincinnati is showing a great deal of tenacity in the month of August, pulling within two games of .500 and four of a National League Wild Card spot. Though, without one of its most valuable players taking the mound for at least the next two weeks, leaping any higher in the standings will be a grueling task.
Injuries have hampered the Reds for lengthy stretches of the 2024 season, so it is somewhat fitting, albeit brutal, that one pops up right when they are playing their best baseball. There is no room for error. The team will need to embody the famous John Sterling quote, “that's baseball, Suzyn,” if it is going to sniff October.
Beyond the present, however, the Hunter Greene injury could potentially impact the future. It is obviously too early to assume the worst, but the 25-year-old righty has already underwent Tommy John surgery before in his career. That gut-wrenching scenario is inevitably occupying space in the cranium of Reds fans everywhere.
Reds' Hunter Greene has worked hard to finally reach this level
Big things have been projected for Greene since the franchise selected him as the No. 2 overall pick in the 2017 MLB Draft. He immediately garnered attention for himself at the big-league level with his electric fastball, but his full potential did not start to be realized until this season.
Greene is 9-4 with a 2.83 ERA (fourth in MLB) and 162 strikeouts (tied for seventh) through 143.1 innings pitched. If nothing else comes out of this Reds' campaign, it would be exciting for the community to witness this rising star finish his 2024 on a high note. Fans will begrudgingly accept the full-blown arrival of Hunter Greene as a consolation prize for what is currently on track to be another playoff-less season.
But if he remains on the sidelines, it will be far tougher for people to keep their glasses half-full heading into the fall and winter. Cincinnati (60-62) is currently hosting the Kansas City Royals (67-56) in a series it needs to win in order to stay in the hunt.
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