Devastating News For Cincinnati Reds On Ace Hunter Greene

2026 has been a lost season for Cincinnati Reds ace Hunter Greene. Now, 2027 will be as well. The latest devastating turn for the 27-year-old right-hander is that he has a torn ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his right elbow, and has undergone a second career Tommy John surgery.

Reds All-Star Hunter Greene is expected to miss the entire 2027 season after undergoing his second Tommy John surgery, per @GDubMLB. pic.twitter.com/iSvkBlTwdB

— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) August 13, 2026

The season was already off to a bad start when Greene missed the first several months of the campaign after arthroscopic surgery in March to remove bone chips from the same elbow. 

He returned in July and made five starts, but was obviously not right, going 2-2 with a 6.83 ERA and a WHIP of 1.37. This, after two consecutive seasons of a 2.75 ERA with a WHIP right around 1.00. 

After he experienced recurring soreness following a bullpen session in early August, an MRI and a second opinion from Dr. Neal ElAttrache confirmed the diagnosis, and his second Tommy John was performed on Thursday. 

His recovery timeline is expected to be 12-18 months.

There were signs of trouble in his elbow for Greene over the past month, but he ignored them. 

“He said he was sore off and on for a couple of weeks,” Reds president of baseball operations Nick Krall said Friday. “At the same time, it wasn’t something he brought to anyone’s attention because he thought it was just, ‘Hey, you’re coming off the bone chip surgery. You’re just going to push through it.’”

Now he'll have to push through a year and a half of rehab. It's a brutal blow not only for Greene, but for the Reds, who will now be without the ace of their pitching staff for two consecutive seasons.