Reds ace Greene hopes offseason work on lower half leads to healthy season

GOODYEAR, Ariz. (AP) — The Cincinnati Reds like their chances when Hunter Greene is on the mound. The 6-foot-5 right-hander has one of baseball's best fastballs, to go along with a nasty slider and an improving split-finger fastball. It's just keeping him on the mound has been a challenge. Going into his fifth year in the majors, Greene added more lower-half strengthening exercises to his offseason routine. The end result of his durability pursuit could go a long way to determining the course of the Reds' season. "Definitely set personal goals," Greene said Sunday. "You know for me it's being able to get to a high amount of innings, obviously strikeouts, all that good stuff, but it's being able to go out there and stay out there as long as I can and be healthy and make all my starts." Greene went 7-4 with a 2.76 ERA last year, helping Cincinnati earn an NL wild card for its first playoff appearance since 2020. But he was limited to a career-low 19 starts and 107 2/3 innings. He was placed on the 15-day injured list on May 9 with a right groin strain. He returned on May 23 and made three starts before going back on the IL with the same injury. This time, he was sidelined until Aug. 13. The Reds have a deep rotation that also includes All-Star left-hander Andrew Abbott, Nick Lodolo and Brady Singer. Rhett Lowder and Chase Burns — two former first-round picks out of Wake Forest University — are in the mix for the fifth spot. But a healthy Greene takes the group to another level. "He looks good, he's in good shape," Cincinnati manager Terry Francona said. "These guys, they work really hard, they get after it pretty good." Greene, 26, was selected by Cincinnati with the No. 2 pick in the 2017 amateur draft. After undergoing Tommy John surgery while he was in the minors, he earned a spot in Cincinnati's rotation in spring training in 2022. Greene had his best season in 2024, making the NL All-Star team for the first time while going 9-5 with a 2.75 ERA in 26 starts. He also had 169 strikeouts in 150 1/3 innings. But he also spent time on the IL that year with elbow soreness. "I'm 6-5, 230 pounds. I got a lot of body that's coming down the hill, a lot of force, a lot of output," Greene said. "So I got to make sure that all the boxes are checked when it comes to, you know, health and output. So it's a long process, but it's my job and I embrace it." Greene described the potential of Cincinnati's rotation as "through the roof," and he thinks they feed off each other. "Our relationships are strong and there's an accountability factor too with all of us," he said. "I think that helps with the production on the team." Greene got a taste of the postseason last year when Cincinnati was swept by the Los Angeles Dodgers in an NL Wild Card Series. He surrendered five runs and six hits in three innings in Game 1 in his first career playoff start. Greene, who signed a $53 million, six-year contract with the Reds in April 2023, has been around Cincinnati long enough to have an idea of what a long October run would mean for the city. The franchise hasn't won a playoff game since 2012, and it hasn't advanced in the postseason since 1995. "I think it'd be very special," he said. "I mean, the rich history of Cincinnati and the World Series that they've been able to bring to the city, and they deserve it. It's a baseball city. Their heart is with baseball." ___ AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb