Reds pitcher Hunter Greene throws his 1st bullpen post surgery

Hunter Greene hasn’t pitched since February 28th. The Cincinnati Reds starting pitch threw an inning that day against the Milwaukee Brewers in his first official spring training game. It would also be his last of the spring. Prior to his next start we learned that something was going on in his elbow and he was getting an MRI. A week later he underwent surgery to remove bone spurs in his right elbow that were causing him pain while trying to pitch. At the time of the surgery he was expected to miss much of the first half of the season, with a timeline of 14-16 weeks before he was back on the mound.

Today we saw Hunter Greene back on the mound for the first time. Still out in Goodyear, Arizona at the Reds spring training complex – that also doubles as the rehab facility for players needing longer term rehab – Greene was on the mound to throw a bullpen session. He shared some video of that on his instagram page.

This is just the next step to getting back on the mound in games. Greene is likely going to have several more of these kinds of bullpen sessions before he moves on to facing live hitters. Those hitters, though, are likely to be his Cincinnati Reds teammates. It was reported earlier this month that Greene would join the Reds after his bullpen session today as long as things went well, and he would then continue his rehab with the big league club.

The usual progression would be for some bullpen sessions followed up by some sort of live bullpen/batting practice/simulated game situations, and then an actual rehab stint in the minor leagues. Greene is still a bit of a way from joining a farm club and pitching in games, but when that time comes expect him to make several starts and use much of the time he’s allotted on rehab to build up hit workload and be ready to pitch against big leaguers for 85+ pitches every five days.