Right-hander Hunter Green is considered the ace of the Cincinnati Reds pitching staff. He has been on the mound in two of the last three Opening Games and is a berth in the 2024 All-Star Game.
But injuries have limited the fifth-year pro’s impact. Last season, Green made 19 starts and went 7-4 with a 2.76 ERA and struck out 132 batters in 107.2 innings.
Unfortunately for Greene and the Reds, the 2026 season started with more bad news. Green left Cincinnati’s spring training camp in Goodyear, Arizona, on Wednesday to get an MRI on a stiff right elbow. He will be evaluated by the team doctor and orthopedic surgeon who performed Tommy John surgery in 2019.
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Second-year manager Terry Francona and the Reds announced Sunday’s game against the Boston Red Sox would be March 26 as Opening Day, pending the results of Green’s MRI.
The team’s X account shared that left-handed pitcher Andrew Abbott will make his first Opening Day start.
Abbott, 26 and a four-year pro, enjoyed an All-Star season of his own in 2025. He went 10-7 with a 2.87 ERA in 166 1/3 innings. He struck out 149 batters. Abbott finished eighth in National League Cy Young Award voting.
Cincinnati’s starting staff ranks ninth in MLB in 2025 with an ERA of 3.85. The Reds went 83-79 in 2025 and made the playoffs in a non-COVID-19 season for the first time since 2013.
Former No. 2 overall pick Chase Burns will likely join Cincinnati’s Opening Day rotation alongside Abbott, Nick Lodolo, Brady Singer and Rhett Lowder if Greene fails to return for the start of the season.
The Reds and Red Sox meet at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati on March 26 at 4:10 PM ET.
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(tagsTotranslation)Cincinnati Reds
