Francona: Reds unlikely to trade pitching assets

Manager Terry Francona is the latest member of the Cincinnati Reds organization to downplay the possibility of trading starting pitching. Francona said on the Baseball Ain’t Boring podcast that he wasn’t anticipating a Hunter Greene trade. “I don’t think those things will (happen)… pitching is too hard for us to acquire in free agency… we have to keep Hunter on the mound,” Francona said in a clip broadcast by Chatterbox Sports.

President of baseball operations Nick Krall expressed a similar sentiment last month, downplaying the idea of ​​the Reds moving players to the pitching side. Under Greene’s leadership, Cincinnati’s starters ranked sixth in the National League in ERA and third in strikeouts. Only the Phillies, Diamondbacks and Braves got more innings from their starting pitchers.

Greene battled a groin injury several times last season, but when healthy he was dominant. He posted career-best numbers in xFIP (3.27) and SIERA (3.06), while throwing harder than ever before. Greene’s heater averaged 93 mph in 2025, a jump of 2.4 mph from 2024. Among pitchers who threw at least 100 innings, Greene ranked fourth in swinging-strike percentage and sixth in K-BB%.

Hunter Greene helped with improved command

The most notable development for Greene last season was how often he was in the offensive zone. He posted a strong strikeout rate of 68.6% and a walk rate of 6.2% in his career. Greene had never recorded a season with a strikeout rate over 65% or a walk rate under 9%. The improved command helped him maintain lower pitch counts and work deeper into games. He recorded quality starts in 11 of 19 games. Greene had 13 quality starts in 2024, but it took him 26 appearances to get there.

If the Reds were to put Greene on the market, he would certainly yield a nice return. The 27-year-old signed a six-year, $53 million extension in 2023. The deal includes a $21 million team option through 2029. Greene’s annual salary will increase in each of the next three seasons, but it will still be affordable enough in the final year of the deal even if the Reds (or another club) decline the team option.

Cincinnati has a stable of controllable starters besides Greene. Andrew Abbott and Chase Burns have yet to reach arbitration. Nick Lodolo won’t hit free agency until 2028. Youngsters Rhett Lowder and Julian Aguiar each have just one year of MLB service time. Brady Singer is the only mainstay approaching free agency as he is in his final year of arbitration. The Reds can keep the majority of this group together for the foreseeable future if they so choose.