Hunter

Greene

Greene is not expected to be ready to pitch until July, and Charlie Goldsmith of FOX19 in Cincinnati reports that the 26-year-old is about three weeks away from throwing bullpen sessions. Because of his ability to miss bats, Greene is worth holding onto even with the long delay.

Greene will be sidelined until at least July after undergoing surgery earlier this month to remove bone chips removed from his right elbow. The dynamic 26-year-old fantasy ace is likely to miss the first half of the upcoming season but should be cleared to start a throwing program by the end of April. He’s worth stashing in all fantasy formats based on his astronomical talent alone.

Greene said last week that he knew he had bone chips, and it turns out that he was correct. He also seems to be correct that there is no damage to his UCL, but we will know more on Wednesday when he goes to get his elbow scoped. Assuming there is no other issue apart from the loose bodies, Greene could return by the middle of June. We tend to gravitate towards the longer end of a recovery timeline, which means July feels like the best bet for when we could see Greene back on the mound for the Reds, if everything goes well in his recovery. That makes it nearly impossible to draft him in leagues without IL spots, but he can be stashed as a late-round pick if you have enough IL spots in your league. Rhett Lowder now looks like he’s going to get a chance to stick in the Reds’ rotation for a few months.

Abbott draws the starting assignment when Cincinnati kicks off the regular season on March 26 against the Red Sox at Great American Ball Park. It’s his first career Opening Day nod for the 26-year-old southpaw, who gets the ball in place of injured Reds ace Hunter Greene (elbow). Abbott was a revelation last year, posting a sparkling 2.87 ERA — 3.55 xERA — across 166 1/3 innings over 29 starts. He’s a top-50 range starting pitcher in fantasy drafts this spring.

Greene said that he has no UCL damage, but said he was dealing with elbow discomfort down the stretch in 2025. Francona elaborated that “He’s just not recovering the way he’s comfortable. The ball is coming out pretty good. You’re asking a guy to go out there and throw as hard as he can. We need to make sure he’s ok.” While Greene said that he “know[s]” he has bone spurs and added he hopefully “can still make a good amount of starts and not miss a really good chunk of the season and most importantly the playoff push.” This is all rather ominous news and Greene probably should come heavily discounted in drafts at the moment until we get a more definitive update.

Greene allowed a run on a wild pitch, and then gave up three straight run-scoring singles. He walked one and didn’t pick up a strikeout in his first Cactus League start of 2026. These things happen. Greene will open the year as the ace for Cincinnati, and he offers significant fantasy upside despite his scuffles in an exhibition bout.

This was absolutely the last thing the Reds needed. Greene’s velocity was fine tonight, but his 65 pitches produced just five missed swings and nine hard-hit balls. He also walked two batters in front of the second homer of the night. It was the first time since April that he’s given up three homers in a game.

Greene draws the starting assignment for the upstart Reds, who snuck into the postseason on the final day of the regular season. The flame-throwing 26-year-old ace was limited to just 19 regular-season starts due to a groin injury that sidelined him for over two months. He’ll face an extremely tough test against the defending World Series champions at Dodger Stadium, but definitely has the high-octane stuff required to potentially shut them down.

Greene’s battle with Paul Skenes delivered. A pitchers’ duel with playoff implications, the two combined to give up just nine hits and two runs with 14 strikeouts over 12 innings. Greene was the only one to let a run in though. Both of those runs came via hits by Spencer Horwitz who took advantage of two mistakes by Greene on a fastball and splitter that were each in the heart of the zone. Also, his slider command was good rather than great as he had a few more noncompetitive misses than normal. It was still a great regular season finale for the young right-hander who’s officially reached ace status.

It’s Greene’s first shutout since his rookie campaign in 2022. The 26-year-old right-hander struck out nine batters on the night — including Nico Hoerner and Ian Happ to finish it out. He carried a no-hit bid into the seventh inning until Seiya Suzuki spoiled the fun with a two-out double. That would be the Cubs’ only hit in the ballgame. Greene got 17 swings and misses on 109 pitches on the night — nine on his fastball — while registering a strong CSW of 36 percent. He’ll look to keep the good times rolling and finish the season on a high note as he carries a 7-4 record, 2.74 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and a 125/24 K/BB ratio (101 2/3 innings) into Wednesday’s matchup against the Pirates.