'I embrace it.' Pressure on for Hunter Greene to make playoff impact for Cincinnati Reds

Yahoo

11 hours ago

It's finally Hunter Greene's turn.
When he returns to the mound after taking nearly all of the last 14 weeks recovering and rehabbing from a mild groin strain, Greene gets the chance down the stretch to make the kind of impact the Cincinnati Reds paid him to make ‒ if not make amends to teammates who have put the team in a playoff chase without him.
'I don't know about amends,' Greene said on the eve of his Aug. 13 return to the mound against the National League East-leading Philadelphia Phillies.
'But obviously I have a lot of respect for everybody in that clubhouse,' he said. 'Everybody works extremely hard, as well as I. There's no difference in work ethic when it comes to myself or the rest of the team. Everybody works extremely hard, and has made a lot of sacrifices as well. So it's not really making amends, but just really trying to come back and not miss that beat.'
OK, forget amends. Just win, baby.
That's what's left for a Reds team that used every ounce of starting pitching depth it had available to cover for Greene's lengthy absence – pushing prospect Chase Petty into a rough second big-league outing in Houston, accelerating the debut timeline of top prospect Chase Burns and even going so far as to add rent-a-starter Zack Littell in a deal at the trade deadline.
The Reds were one spot out of the NL playoff picture with 41 games to play as Greene prepared for what could be as many as nine chances down the stretch to make the kind of impact that puts the Reds over the top.
'He pitched Opening Day for us, so we obviously thought pretty highly of him,' manager Terry Francona said. 'Getting back a main member of your staff should help.'
It better. The Reds need every bit of help they can get as they face the toughest remaining schedule in baseball – including 24 of their final 42 games against teams currently in playoff position.
'I've taken that expectation and that role on. I embrace it,' said Greene, who's in the middle of a six-year, $53 million contract. 'I'm in that position to be able to bring change and a difference.
'I'm not oblivious to the situation that we're in,' he said. 'I put a lot of pressure on myself. Nobody's ever going to put more pressure on me than I will myself.'
Greene, a 2024 All-Star, was well on his way to another selection this year with a 2.72 ERA in 11 starts before going back on the IL for a second time with the same injury despite no apparent recurrence of damage.
It's been nearly 2 1/2 months since then, with an aborted attempt to schedule a rehab assignment in early July along the way.
'He really wanted to be 100 percent so he could be the pitcher he–," Francona said before stopping and shifting gears mid-sentence. "We've had a lot of conversations about (that). It's hard sometimes because you can't see inside somebody's body. So if you say, 'Well, hey, if you're 95 percent, you can help us' – saying that, if a guy doesn't feel comfortable, that's a really touchy area where you almost have to default to let a guy when he's ready be ready.'
Greene said the length of time for an injury that twice was considered short-term was about putting 'myself in the best position' to attack big-league hitters and 'to be able to flip that switch to think external, to think 'me vs. you,' because when you're rolling and you're doing your best in the big leagues, that's usually the mindset that you're in, more external and not worrying about how you're feeling, or if this is going to feel right.'
Said Francona: 'I get that. I don't know if that's attainable in our game.'
Francona knows first hand what it takes to compete in the big leagues at less than 100 percent, as a first-round draft pick who showed All-Star hitting ability before two major knee injuries in his early 20s forced him to battle for jobs and playing time the rest of a 10-year career.
'I get it. Way easier to compete,' he said of that perfect-health feeling. 'I betcha if you go ask (veteran pitcher Wade) Miley, can he do 100 percent? No. You manage what you manage, and if you can manage it and still compete and be OK, it's fine. If not, it's not OK.'
Miley, who lockers next to Greene in the Reds clubhouse, pushed himself back from reconstructive elbow surgery at 38 to help the Reds' rotation deficit in June, pitching the team to victory against the Guardians and Tigers before suffering a setback after three starts.
Whatever Greene needed to be ready for this moment, he now faces what might be the most significant stretch of his career, a chance to lead the Reds into the postseason for the first time in his career ‒ maybe even a chance to help them win a playoff series for the first time in 30 years.
He said he's ready. He said he's confident.
'It's great. I love everything about myself and what I've been able to do so far,' he said. 'I have even more expectations for myself moving forward. But I feel like I'm a huge component to the team, and I know that, and I've been able to get a lot of love from my teammates coming back and just really appreciate that. Because they've been grinding all year, and it could have been a different dynamic.
'But I feel like I've always been consistent in my character and have always just been the same person. I think that goes a long way.'
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Reds' Hunter Greene embraces role to make playoff impact