Reds pitcher Hunter Greene begins throwing after surgery

Cincinnati Reds pitcher Hunter Greene is back to throwing baseballs. The 26-year-old right hander underwent surgery on his pitching elbow during spring training to clean up bone spurs that were causing him some pain while pitching.

Added to the 60-day injured list, the Reds announced at the time of the surgery that he could return in 14-16 weeks. That would, at the earliest, mean a return at some point in mid-to-late June. That timeline would mean that he would miss out on 15-17 starts as long as the team remained on a 5-man rotation like schedule.

37 days after his surgery, Hunter Greene had his first day throwing. Greene, who remained in Arizona when the Reds headed back to Cincinnati at the end of spring training, has been at the complex doing his rehab. He posted a video on instagram of him tossing with someone from what looks to be about 60 feet.

The pitching has been holding up just fine while Greene has been on the injured list in the first three weeks of the season. Even with Nick Lodolo missing that time with a blister, too. He threw a bullpen session on Tuesday and came through that just fine. The lefty is traveling with the Reds to Minnesota for the road trip and on Friday he is expected to throw to hitters in a simulated game as he tries to get back on the mound in games.

It hasn’t been the pitching that the Reds have been needing to worry about. The offense has struggled nearly every day so far this season, but the pitching has been very strong in most games and despite their loss to San Francisco on Thursday afternoon Cincinnati won the series and is still tied for 1st place in the National League Central with the Pittsburgh Pirates.