Greene revealed Wednesday that the right elbow soreness which prompted an MRI dates back to his "final 5-6 starts" of last season, Charlie Goldsmith of Fox 19 Now Cincinnati reports.

EDGE Analysis

Greene said of the elbow soreness last season that "it was a playoff push, so I pushed through it." The hurler noted that he got an injection and "felt fine" during the offseason, but the discomfort returned a week before the start of spring training. Greene made a Cactus League start Feb. 28 and was touched up for four runs on five hits and one walk over one inning of work. The righty is being sent for an MRI, which will be evaluated by team physician Dr. Timothy Kremchek before being sent to specialist Dr. Neal ElAttrache for a second opinion. Greene said that "I know I have bone spurs" in the elbow, but "as of now, there's no UCL damage." Those comments were made prior to the scheduled MRI, so more will be known about Greene's outlook after he's evaluated by both doctors. At minimum, he will be shut down through at least next Tuesday.

Reds manager Terry Francona said Wednesday that Greene is tending to a right elbow injury and is scheduled to undergo an MRI, Charlie Goldsmith of Fox 19 Now Cincinnati reports.

EDGE Analysis

According to Pat Brennan of The Cincinnati Enquirer, the Reds are terming Greene's injury as right elbow stiffness, which presumably cropped up during his Cactus League debut Saturday versus the Brewers or a throwing session earlier this week. The severity of the injury isn't yet known, but Greene told Goldsmith that he hasn't suffered any damage to his UCL. Francona noted that the 26-year-old will be shut down from throwing through at least Tuesday while the Reds plan to first have Greene's MRI evaluated by team physician Dr. Timothy Kremchek before sending the results to arm specialist Dr. Neal ElAttrache for a second opinion. Dr. ElAttrache previously performed Tommy John surgery on Greene's elbow back in April 2019.

Greene allowed four runs on five hits and one walk over one inning in Saturday's spring start against the Brewers.

EDGE Analysis

Greene threw a total of 37 pitches (21 strikes) against eight batters over two different innings in his Cactus League debut. The right-hander used his typical arsenal of four-seamer, slider and splitter but not the two-seamer he'd worked on during the offseason. He was yanked in the first without retiring a batter and lamented his location to Mark Sheldon of MLB.com. "Results obviously weren't great but going in, the plan - especially adjusting to the ABS - I wanted to fill the zone up. I was probably too middle today," Greene said. "Obviously, it's a good hitting team. I was trying to find a little bit more of those corners." Greene was better in his second inning, which included a walk, a groundout and double-play groundout. Despite the trials, the pitcher said he felt great, and manager Terry Francona was pleased with how the ball was coming out.

Greene is working on adding a two-seam fastball to his arsenal, Charlie Goldsmith of The Dayton Daily News reports. "It's going to be a great offering," Greene said. "I'm excited to get going. You'll see it a good bit." The Reds are working in Greene slowly, as he essentially pitched a simulated game Sunday and will make his spring training debut on Friday.

EDGE Analysis

Greene heavily relied on a four-seamer last season, throwing it 54 percent of the time, along with a slider (35 percent) and a splitter (11 percent). Perhaps the two-seamer could replace the splitter at times, as the latter pitch yielded a .310 batting average and .655 slugging percentage during the regular season in 26 batted ball events, while netting only three strikeouts.

Greene took the loss to the Dodgers on Tuesday in Game 1 of the National League Wild Card Series. He allowed five runs on six hits and two walks while striking out four over three innings.

EDGE Analysis

The hard-throwing righty gave up a leadoff home run to Shohei Ohtani in the bottom of the first, which set the tone early for the Dodgers. Greene appeared to be settling in but lost his focus and command entirely in the third inning when he gave up back-to-back walks and then back-to-back homers to Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman. After missing more than two months with a groin injury, Greene returned to post a 2.81 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and 59:12 K:BB over his final 48 regular-season innings prior to Tuesday's hiccup.

Greene will start Game 1 of the National League Wild Card Series against the Dodgers on Tuesday.

EDGE Analysis

The Reds left open the possibility of using Greene out of the bullpen Sunday in the final game of the regular season, but once that didn't happen, he became the obvious choice to take the ball in Game 1. Greene collected a 2.76 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and 132:26 K:BB over 107.2 innings covering 19 starts this season. He'll be opposed by Blake Snell on Tuesday.

Reds manager Terry Francona said Thursday that he's discussed with Greene the possibility of pitching out of the bullpen during Sunday's game in Milwaukee, Charlie Goldsmith of Fox 19 Now Cincinnati reports.

EDGE Analysis

Greene threw 96 pitches over six innings in Wednesday's extra-innings loss to the Pirates, so he would be pitching on three days' rest Sunday and would be making his first-ever relief appearance. Francona said that Greene is "open" to the idea, though it will ultimately come down to how the righty feels Sunday and also whether the Reds still have something to play for.

Greene didn't factor into the decision in Wednesday's 4-3 extra-innings loss to the Pirates, giving up two runs on five hits and two walks over six innings. He struck out seven.

EDGE Analysis

Matched up against NL Cy Young Award favorite Paul Skenes, Greene came through with his 11th quality start of the season, but he still exited the mound after 96 pitches (63 strikes) with the Reds in a 2-0 hole -- only for late homers by Noelvi Marte and Tyler Stephenson to get Greene off the hook for his fifth loss of the season. Cincy is one game back of the final wild-card spot with four to play as the Reds duke it out with the Mets and Diamondbacks for a playoff berth, so Greene could be needed over the weekend if the season is on the line. If not, he wraps up his 2025 campaign with a 2.76 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and 132:26 K:BB over 107.2 innings.

Greene (7-4) threw a shutout Thursday versus the Cubs, allowing one hit and one walk while striking out nine over nine innings.

EDGE Analysis

This was the second shutout of Greene's career, with the other coming in his rookie year in 2022. He was perfect through four innings before Moises Ballesteros reached on an error to lead off the fifth. Greene then walked Michael Busch in the sixth and allowed a double to Seiya Suzuki in the seventh. Aside from a poor showing versus the Athletics last Saturday, Greene has been dominant in September, allowing a total of seven runs over 24.2 innings across his four starts this month to keep the Reds feasibly still in the hunt for a playoff spot. Greene is now at a 2.74 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 125:24 K:BB through 101.2 innings over 18 starts this season. He is projected to make his last start of the regular season at home versus the Pirates next week.

Greene allowed five runs on four hits and four walks while striking out three over 2.1 innings in a no-decision versus the Athletics on Saturday.

EDGE Analysis

Greene gave up a pair of home runs in the second inning and his struggles continued in the third before the early hook. This was his shortest start of the year and his worst performance since allowing five runs over three innings April 19 versus the Orioles. He's still at a 3.01 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and 116:23 K:BB through 92.2 innings over 17 starts, so chalk this up to just a bad start, especially since four of his previous five outings were quality starts. The right-hander will try to get back on track in a home start versus the Cubs next week.