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Why Cincinnati Reds should trade All-Star ace Hunter Greene

CLEVELAND – Hot off the presses from the Unsolicited Advice Dept. of the Press Box Wag: The Cincinnati Reds should trade Hunter Greene. No? He's the Reds' ace? He's an All-Star? He's only 25? He throws 100 mph? He's as good as any pitcher in the game? Hunter Greene had to leave the game after throwing two warmup pitches before the fourth inning against the Atlanta Braves on May 7. Greene is on the injured list after being put on the IL on June 4. More: Cincinnati Reds' Andrew Abbott goes the distance in 1-0 win over Guardians Advertisement Yes, all of that. All of that is exactly why they should trade him now. And for anyone who wonders how the Reds might win without him: That's the point. Whatever they're doing these days, they're doing it without him. The Reds have a semblance of starting pitching depth, at least compared to having little to no depth just about everywhere else. And assuming Greene's latest IL stint for an apparent mild groin strain and bothersome lower back isn't serious, he could deliver the kind of bidding war that could return a package built around the impact hitter that the team didn't acquire in the offseason – presumably with multiple years of club control. Advertisement That could be the difference maker for a club that still looks a bat short. Never mind the other players that would certainly come back in a deal like that. What's more, it could be a buyer's win-now trade, no matter how much it might look at first glance like a seller's move. Greene, who has a 2.72 ERA in 11 starts this season following an All-Star 2024, is under club control through 2029 on a contract that has $40 million in 2026-28 salary left, in addition to what would be left of this year's $6.3 million plus a $21 million club option for '29. That's a potential bargain for a triple-digit All-Star starter and might even be less than Pittsburgh's budding superstar Paul Skenes makes in that same stretch by the time the Pirates (or whoever makes a trade with the Pirates) get done paying him arbitration salaries. Advertisement And that could make Greene the most valuable player available during this summer's trading season. If the Reds make him available. It's not that Greene isn't valuable to the Reds, too. But their competitive window to win a trophy more significant than the Ohio Cup is now. Their best chance anytime soon is probably these next two-plus seasons with Hall of Fame-bound manager Terry Francona running things. And Greene can't beat the Mets or the Yankees or the Dodgers if he doesn't pitch against them. When it comes to a player's health and injury status, it's not fair for anyone to play a doctor in the media, in the bleachers or in the locker stall next to the player and try to parse the reasons or severity. Advertisement It doesn't matter anyway. When Greene headed to Los Angeles this week to seek a second opinion after an MRI apparently revealed nothing more severe than the Grade 1 groin strain that sidelined him for 20 days in May (based on what team officials said), it all but assured he will fail to reach 30 starts in a season for the fourth time in four full seasons in the majors. His career high is 26 starts, last season, when he also reached a career high with 150 1/3 innings. If this stint on the IL stretches much beyond the minimum 15 requisite days, he might be hard-pressed to reach either of those figures this year. Advertisement On the other hand, if his injuries are not more serious than the initial indications, then the Reds should be able to leverage Greene's highest career value in a trade. Logo for Gordon Wittenmyer column Press Box Wag What will they do without him? Same thing they've done so far without him. Entering this week's series finale in Cleveland, the Reds are 14-10 when Greene has been on the IL. They're under .500 in their other games. And this: Veteran Wade Miley made his first start back from Tommy John surgery on Monday and earned his first MLB win since 2023 with five innings of competitive work. Wade Miley pitched five serviceable innings in his first start as a Red following his Tommy John surgery, a 7-4 victory over the Cleveland Guardians June 9. 'To be fair to him, I think he has a chance to be better because he hasn't pitched, and his rehab was all over the map,' Francona said, referring to rainouts and pitch-count issues during Miley's stretch of minor-league games to prep for his big-league return. Advertisement 'He's shaking off some rust,' the manager said. 'But he's pretty good. I'm telling you, he competes. There's a reason he's still pitching.' In addition to Miley, top prospect Chase Burns – last year's No. 2 overall pick – just got promoted to Triple-A Louisville after dominating at Double-A Chattanooga, which puts him on the verge of a big-league debut. And even looking ahead, their No. 7 overall pick from 2023 – Rhett Lowder – could be back from an oblique injury by the end of the season. He had a 1.17 ERA during a six-start debut last season. As crazy as it might sound, the Reds might have enough pitching to reach the playoffs. Maybe do damage. Advertisement But they might not have enough of everything else. Which makes Hunter Greene a possible answer to the franchise's 30-year drought of postseason success. Just not the way anybody might have imagined when the season began. He said it 'You better believe it. Do whatever it takes, man. He was looking for a little help. I gave it to him. We're in this together, man. I'll do whatever.' *Francona, when asked after Monday's game if it was true he kissed the barrel of Christian Encarnacion-Strand's bat before CES delivered the go-ahead sacrifice fly in a victory. The Big Number: 30 That's the number of fluid ounces the silver Ohio Cup holds, according to scientific experiments conducted by Reds players after reacquiring the coveted award for winning the Cleveland-Cincinnati season series. Advertisement 'It holds 2 1/2 12-ounce Coors Lights,' center fielder TJ Friedl said. 'You do the math.' The Reds, who hadn't possessed the traveling trophy since 2014, did plenty of the math after Monday's season-series clincher over the Guardians, judging by the empties on the table around the trophy. 'It was great when they rolled that trophy in here on that cart,' Friedl said. 'It was like, 'Oh, it's real. It's right there.' ' Did you know? When the Reds beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 4-3 in 10 innings in the opener of their weekend sweep at home, they secured not only their first victory in six extra-inning games this season but also their first extra-inning run. Advertisement Wow. One of those five extra-inning games before the DBacks game was an 11-inning affair, which means the Reds went six consecutive tries this year without scoring after starting a frame with a free runner at second. That's hard to do, considering runners at second with nobody out historically score more than half the time. Did we say wow? This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Why Cincinnati Reds should trade ace Hunter Greene | Press Box Wag