Hunter Greene injury: Reds to place ace on injured list after strained groin forces early exit vs. Braves

The Cincinnati Reds will place right-hander Hunter Greene on the injured list after he departed his start on Wednesday night with what the team has since diagnosed as a grade 1 right groin strain, according to MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon. It’s unclear what the Reds’ corresponding move will be.

Greene, 25, left after throwing three scoreless innings (and striking out six of the 11 batters he faced) versus the Atlanta Braves. He improved his seasonal marks to a 2.36 ERA (187 ERA+) and a 7.63 strikeout-to-walk ratio over the course of 45 ⅔ innings and eight starts. His contributions have been worth an estimated 1.8 Wins Above Replacement, per Baseball Reference.

“I felt fantastic tonight,” Greene told reporters on Wednesday. “It sucks because the momentum was great and all my stuff felt good. In the top of the fourth, my first two warmup pitches I felt my groin grab so I just didn’t feel like I would be at my best or really honestly keep my team in it continuing to throw if I stayed in. So that was the decision.”

There’s been no timetable offered on Greene’s return to the rotation. According to Baseball Prospectus’ database, groin strains tend to sideline players for 29 days on average. Of course, it’s worth remembering that there are varying severities and recoveries to these things. Greene, then, may not require four weeks before rejoining the roster.

The Reds are already without a number of injured key players. Among them: fellow starter Rhett Lowder, infielders Noelvi Marte and Jeimer Candelario, and outfielder Austin Hays. 

The Reds entered Thursday’s series finale against the Braves with a 19-19 record on the year. Cincinnati trails the Chicago Cubs in the National League Central by three games.