NEW YORK — If the Cincinnati Reds feel the need for speed when they’re at Bristol Motor Speedway for MLB’s latest circus-sideshow game in a couple weeks, maybe they’ll get a 100-mph infusion when they resume their regularly scheduled season after that.
That’s about when Opening Day starter Hunter Greene could be ready to return from the injured list, barring another setback with the groin strain that has sidelined him for all but three starts (14 innings) since May 7.
Reds manager Terry Francona with some words of encouragement for Hunter Greene before a live BP session at Fenway Park July 2. Greene is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment either July 21 or 22.
The Reds aren’t offering any projected timelines, but Greene was scheduled to start a minor-league rehab assignment with a two-inning start for the Reds’ Arizona Complex League team either Monday or Tuesday, then travel to join Triple-A Louisville to continue the assignment.
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If he progresses enough in two more starts, that could line him up for a return to the Reds rotation sometime during the Aug. 4-6 showdown with the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.
Greene, a 2024 All-Star, has made just 11 starts this season, going 4-3 with a 2.72 ERA.
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Part of the reason the Reds are reluctant to predict a return for Greene is the fits-and-starts path his rehab has taken since the original injury.
Most recently, he was scheduled to start a rehab assignment two weeks ago that seemed to point to a return immediately after the All-Star break. But a relapse of discomfort in the area prompted another MRI, which showed no new issue, and a change in rehab plans.
At which point manager Terry Francona said of Greene’s return: “We don’t really have a road map.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Reds’ Hunter Greene (groin) to start rehab assignment