CINCINNATI — Just minutes before a scheduled MRI, the Cincinnati Reds placed starter Hunter Greene on the injured list with a right groin strain.
Greene said he felt discomfort on his last two pitches in the fifth inning of Tuesday’s victory over the Milwaukee Brewers and left the game. Tuesday was his third start back from the IL, which was one of the reasons the team returned him to the injured list.
Advertisement
“We stayed here for a while last night, we talked to him, we talked to trainers,” Reds manager Terry Francona said. “Since it happened once and this is twice, we’ve got to figure this out. And then his lower back was starting to (affect him) and we’re trying to figure out if it’s related. We’ve got to get him healthy. It was kind of an easy decision even without seeing the MRI.”
The Reds signed veteran left-hander Wade Miley to fill Greene’s spot in the rotation and transferred right-hander Rhett Lowder to the 60-day injured list.
Sunday, Miley exercised the opt-out of his minor-league deal and became a free agent. The 38-year-old is coming back from a hybrid ulnar collateral ligament surgery, which combines traditional Tommy John surgery with an internal brace, that he underwent last May while with the Brewers.
Miley made seven minor-league starts this year, including a five-inning, two-run performance last Friday for the Triple-A Louisville Bats. Because he wouldn’t be ready to pitch again until Wednesday, Miley said Reds president of baseball operations Nick Krall told him he’d have a place in the team’s bullpen, but wanted to let Miley explore an opportunity to start elsewhere.
Miley said he talked to a couple of other teams, but was happy to return to the Reds. Miley’s family is in Cincinnati for the season, so he spent the time “being dad” and coaching baseball games and practice for his son Jeb. Miley was already expected to be in the Reds’ bullpen on Wednesday, but Greene’s injury created an opening for him in the rotation. Francona said Miley would be available to pitch out of the bullpen Wednesday, but if he didn’t, he’d start Monday in Cleveland. In 2021, Miley threw a no-hitter for the Reds against then-Cleveland manager Francona’s Guardians at Progressive Field.
Advertisement
“It was a situation where the five starters here were throwing the ball great, and I was pretty open with Nick, like I don’t want to mess with that,” Miley said. “Physically, I think I’ll be fine in the bullpen, but they allowed me to see if there were any starting jobs out there, and at the end of the day, here we are.”
Miley, a Red in 2020 and 2021, was a consistent and popular figure in spring training, and Wednesday’s news generated excitement in the Reds’ clubhouse.
“He was in full uni at 8:30 this morning when I thought I was the only one here,” Francona said. “It’s really welcome. We’ve been waiting for him, there’s no getting around it. He’s a bright light, man.”
(Photo: Dylan Buell / Getty Images)
