Hunter Greene Isn’t Going Anywhere - And That’s Exactly How the Reds Want It
GOODYEAR, Ariz. - For all the offseason chatter swirling around Hunter Greene, one thing has remained clear: the Cincinnati Reds aren’t in the business of trading away their ace. Not now.
Not when he’s entering his prime. And certainly not when he’s poised to anchor their rotation for years to come.
Still just 26, Greene is heading into his fifth big-league season, and despite being under team control through 2029 thanks to the long-term extension he signed ahead of the 2023 season, his name kept popping up in trade rumors this winter. But let’s be honest - those rumors were more fantasy baseball than front office reality.
“We can’t go get those guys, and we know it,” Reds manager Terry Francona said, brushing off the speculation with the kind of clarity you’d expect from a veteran skipper who’s seen it all.
Greene, for his part, has handled the noise like a pro. He’s been through this before. And he knows how to tune it out.
“I don’t care about trade rumors, because that’s part of the game and I can’t control it,” Greene said Thursday. “That’s never bothered me. I’ve loved my time [in Cincinnati], and I want to continue to have a great time with the team and the organization, and hopefully it’s able to transpire into something longer.”
That doesn’t sound like a guy itching for a way out. And frankly, there’s never been any indication - on or off the field - that Greene wants anything other than to thrive in Cincinnati.
He’s already shown what he can be when healthy. Greene was named an All-Star in 2024 and likely would’ve earned the honor a year earlier if not for a pair of groin injuries that sidelined him from early June to mid-August.
Despite that, MLB Network recently slotted him as the 10th-best starting pitcher in the game. That’s not hype - that’s respect earned.
And when the Reds arrived in Goodyear this week with a new slugger who mashed 49 homers last season, they did it without giving up Greene. In fact, he’s on track to make his third Opening Day start in five seasons - a rare honor that speaks volumes about how the organization views him.
The front office hasn’t completely shut the door on any potential trade - Reds president of baseball operations Nick Krall made that clear when he mentioned that no player, not even Elly De La Cruz, is truly untouchable. But Krall also emphasized how unlikely a Greene trade would be. The headlines may have run with the first part, but the second part is what matters in the Reds’ clubhouse.
Greene’s not just a pitcher with elite stuff - he’s a presence in the community, too. Before he ever threw a big-league pitch, he was already making an impact in Cincinnati.
Back in January 2020, he hosted a youth baseball camp at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, complete with an educational component - a sign of the kind of person the Reds were bringing into the fold. Since then, he’s continued to give back in both his hometown of Los Angeles and in Cincinnati, frequently visiting the Reds Urban Youth Academy and local high schools around Jackie Robinson Day.
If Greene were looking for a quick path to free agency, he wouldn’t have signed the deal he did. That contract not only bought out his arbitration years but also his first two years of free agency. The Reds even hold a $21 million team option in 2029 - a bargain in today’s pitching market, especially considering they paid Nick Martinez more last season.
Greene inked that deal before his All-Star selection, but after flashing the kind of upside that turns heads. He came into the league with a blazing fastball and a wipeout slider, but over the past two seasons, he’s added a split-finger fastball to the mix - a pitch that’s made him even tougher to square up. It’s part of a broader evolution that Reds pitching coach Derek Johnson and now-manager Francona have seen firsthand.
“Last spring, [Johnson] was like, ‘he’s growing,’” Francona said. “I think with guys that are that age, that level of experience, they’re supposed to.
He is doing that, for sure. I’d put [Nick] Lodolo in there, look at Andrew [Abbott] - they’re supposed to because they’re that age, but not everybody does it.”
The next step for Greene? Durability.
He’s landed on the injured list in each of his first four seasons, though he’s still managed to throw at least 100 innings every year, topping out at 150 1/3 in 2024. That’s a solid foundation, but Greene knows there’s another level to reach.
“I put my body in great condition, and there’s been obviously a lot of frustration in the past, like not being able to make 30 starts, which is difficult to do,” Greene said. “I think a lot of people make it seem like it’s easy to do. Most of those people don’t know the game, they never played it - especially in today’s game.”
He’s not wrong. Making 30 starts in today’s game - with the velocity, the workload, the grind - is no small feat.
But when Greene’s on the mound, he’s as good as they come. He went 9-5 with a 2.75 ERA in 2024, and 7-4 with a 2.76 ERA the year before.
Those are frontline numbers. And they’re not projections - they’re proof.
“If we can keep him on the field - he has a big responsibility - we’ve got to keep an eye on him too,” Francona said. “When you’re that good, you want them out there.
If he makes 30 starts? I think the numbers will be there.”
The Reds know what they have in Hunter Greene. And despite the offseason noise, they’re not in any rush to let him go.
Nor should they be. Because when he's healthy, Greene isn’t just the face of the rotation - he’s the kind of pitcher you build around.