After over two months on the injured list, s return date to the Reds has now been set. Manager Terry Francona told reporters (including ) that Greene is penciled in as the starter for Wednesdays game against the Phillies. Greene emerged as the Reds ace with an All-Star season in 2024, and he picked up where he left off by posting a 2.72 ERA, 30.8% strikeout rate, and 5.9% walk rate over his first 11 starts and 59 2/3 innings of the Phil Niekro Jersey 2025 campaign. A right groin strain sent Greene to the IL for a 15-day minimum stint in May and he returned in seemingly good form, but another right groin strain has kept the right-hander sidelined since his last start on June 3. It seemed like Greene was nearing a return in early July before he experienced some more groin sorene s, which set things back and delayed the start of his minor league rehab a signment until after the All-Star break. Greene has pitched four times during his ramp-up work in the minors, and the third of his three Triple-A appearances came on Friday, when he threw 79 pitches over 5 1/3 innings with Triple-A Louisville. Francona said that Greene is probably not there yet in terms of being able to to s 100 pitches in a game, but the fact that he maintained his velocity on Friday was the final sign the Reds needed to explore activating him from the IL. Needle s to say, getting Greene back in the rotation is a huge help for Cincinnatis playoff hopes. The Reds 14-8 win over the Pirates today moved the club 1.5 games back of the final NL wild card slot, which is held by a Mets team mired in a seven-game losing streak. While New Yorks collapse has opened the door for the Reds, Cincinnati has a tough week ahead, with upcoming series against two red-hot division winners in the Phillies and the Brewers. had been scheduled to start on Wednesday, but Francona said the Reds have a lot of things to work through in determining how the rotation will be altered now that Greene is back. Either Burns or will be moved to bullpen duty, and both pitchers could ultimately end up as relievers once also returns from a blister problem that sent him to the 15-day IL last week. This would give the Reds a projected rotation of Greene, Lodolo, , , and deadline pickup once everyone is healthy, and using the exce s starting depth to bolster the pen is a nice luxury for the team. Ronald Acuna Jr. Jersey