CINCINNATI -- The long and very slow road back to the active roster for Reds starting pitcher Hunter Greene from a right groin strain extended all the way back to Arizona again on Wednesday.
Greene, who postponed a rehab assignment start for Triple-A Louisville on Tuesday because of continued groin discomfort, left the club again for the team facility in Goodyear, Ariz., where he will continue his rehab and throwing program.
“We don’t really have a road map," manager Terry Francona said when asked for the plan ahead. "We’ve kind of talked a ton with him. When you ask a guy to go out and pitch and compete and give it his all, he’s got to feel confident that when he lets it go, he’s going to be OK. So we want to get him to the point where that’s the case. He’s the only one that’s going to know that and tell us.”
On June 4, the day after leaving a game vs. the Brewers when he felt something, Greene went on the 15-day injured list because of his strained groin. It was the same injury that had him out from May 8-22.
A subsequent MRI revealed a Grade 1 strain, the least severe kind, and multiple opinions in Los Angeles confirmed the diagnosis before the right-hander went to Goodyear to work out and rehab.
Greene threw a 20-pitch live batting practice to hitters in Boston on July 2 and reported no issues. Then after a bullpen session in Philadelphia on Sunday, he reported a setback, which forced scratching the rehab assignment.
However, another MRI showed no remaining strain or new issues.
“You still go [based] on symptoms and if he’s feeling something. These [MRI’s] are not perfect. We know that," Francona said. “If somebody is playing professional sports, you’re going to see something. So we were really happy that it showed healing. But if he’s feeling something -- whether it’s not so much pain but just feeling fatigued -- we’ve got to give it a chance to get that out of there.”
Although not able to pitch in games, Greene is still able to throw off a mound in bullpen sessions.
“As the load increases, that’s when it has happened before," Francona said. "We’re trying to give him the proper buildup where this [muscle] doesn’t feel fatigue.”
Greene, 25, is 4-3 with a 2.72 ERA in 11 starts (59 2/3 innings) this season. After he went down with the injury again, Wade Miley replaced him in the rotation but only lasted two starts before going on the IL with a left flexor strain on June 20 (retroactive to June 17). No. 1 prospect Chase Burns debuted in the spot and has made three starts.
Had Greene began his rehab assignment as scheduled, it seemed possible he could have been activated soon after the All-Star break. But without a road map or any real sense of a timeline, an August return appears to be the most plausible goal at this point.