Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- The Reds need to prioritize multiple high-end prospects in any Hunter Greene trade, ideally with an impact timeline of 2027.
- Controllable young pitching and consistent lineup producers are the two most pressing needs for Cincinnati right now.
- One contender stands out as uniquely capable of meeting all those demands while still maintaining their championship roster.
The Cincinnati Reds began the season red-hot, only to swiftly fall out of contention and become clear sellers at the MLB trade deadline. While Hunter Greene's recent return from elbow surgery has not been triumphant (6.06 ERA), the 26-year-old is still throwing absolute gas. He has 26 strikeouts in 16.1 innings and he's just getting back up to speed.
Greene was viewed as the white whale of the 2025 deadline, and ultimately the Reds stood pat. While there's no pressure to trade a Cy Young-caliber ace with two additional years of club control remaining, the Reds need to be honest about the state of their roster. A Greene trade could net the franchise several difference-makers long-term. Resetting the timeline a bit wouldn't be the worst idea.
What should the Reds look for in a Hunter Greene trade?
The Reds were in the playoffs a year ago. This team is not far removed from contention. So, while re-upping for the future is an understandable instinct, the Reds would need to target multiple high-end prospects — ideally those with a chance to impact the MLB roster in 2027. Greene is a flat-out superstar in the prime of his career. You can't trade him without returning a package that offers the chance for more cumulative value sooner than later.
That probably means at least one controllable young pitcher, as Cincy's rotation has underperformed all year. You need to backfill Greene's spot with a competent replacement. Really, in a perfect world, the Reds would get a couple starters. The more bites at the apple, the better.
Cincy should not ignore the positional side either. Their splashy offseason addition, Eugenio Suárez, did not pan out. The Reds are blessed with a handful of ascending young stars on the infield in Elly De La Cruz, Sal Stewart and hopefully Edwin Arroyo. Unfortunately, the rest of their lineup feels too mercurial, too expendable. The Reds rank fifth in home runs but 24th in total runs. They need guys who can consistent get on base and pass the baton, so to speak. It can't be all or nothing every at-bat.
For reference, the Detroit Tigers reportedly want two top-10 prospects for Tarik Skubal, if he's even traded. Controllable, proven arms, such as Milwaukee's Logan Henderson or Los Angeles' Emmet Sheehan, were also floated as potential return package headliners by The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal. Skubal is a rental. Greene is a multi-year anchor. The Reds should aim even higher. Think a couple top-10 prospects and a pro arm from the other team, at the bare minimum.
Which teams could be interested in Hunter Greene?
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Dodgers are loaded to the brim with elite prospects, despite their sky-high payroll. That makes them uniquely capable of pulling off a major trade like this. It doesn't hurt that Greene is still making a cheap arbitration salary, thus he won't weigh down their unwieldy books. Los Angeles has no shortage of talent on the mound, but Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow are entirely unreliable from a health standpoint, while Shohei Ohtani is currently confined to offense-only while he nurses a knee problem. Greene can fill those gaps — and then some.
Milwaukee Brewers
Cincinatti probably won't trade Greene within the division, but the Brewers are up there with L.A. with one of the best farm systems in MLB. Moreover, Milwaukee is locked in a tight race for the NL's No. 1 seed, with a real opportunity to kneecap the Dodgers' dynastic run. Jacob Misiorowski, Hunter Greene, Kyle Harrison and Shane Drohan is a nasty postseason gauntlet on the mound. The Brewers don't usually swap prospects for stars, but Greene's talent, age and contract make him uniquely appealing.
Tampa Bay Rays
Tampa Bay currently holds the best record in the American League. The best word to describe the Rays' front office is 'opportunistic.' Tampa is very smart with the swings it takes on the trade market, but the chance to add a bonafide No. 1 ace with multiple years of control is worth dipping into a loaded farm system. Greene would join Drew Rasmussen, Shane McClanahan and the shockingly impactful Nick Martinez to form one of the best four-man postseason rotations in the majors.
Philadelphia Phillies
The No. 5 spot in the Phillies rotation has become untenable, with Andrew Painter and Alan Rangel both chewed up and spit out by MLB pitching. Any team with Cristopher Sánchez, Zack Wheeler and Jesús Luzardo has a shot come October, but the Phillies could use regular-season depth and a better fourth-stringer than Aaron Nola in the playoffs. Greene would blow all reasonable deadline expectations out of the water, handing Philly the most dominant rotations in MLB. It would cost an arm and a leg, which the Phillies don't have much of these days.
New York Yankees
Max Fried and Gerrit Cole are both healthy — for now — and the hope is Carlos Rodón will return down the stretch. Still, the Yankees are always in the market for premium talent, and rolling into the playoffs with Schlittler, Fried, Cole and Greene makes New York incredibly intimidating in an otherwise muted American League. If the lineup can reach anywhere close to its ceiling, the Yankees become the greatest possible challenger to L.A.'s World Series crown.
Atlanta Braves
The Braves tend to develop and extend young stars rather than paying a premium via trade or free agency. Still, Greene is such a knockout talent and the Braves are littered with young, controllable arms to throw at Cincinnati. This isn't quite the same as the Chris Sale trade, when the Braves were buying impossibly low. But we know Alex Anthopoulos can be aggressive when he wants to be. Now is the time for Atlanta to seize the NL East and put the Dodgers on notice.
Which team could offer Reds the best trade package for Hunter Greene?
Sigh... it's the Dodgers. That does not mean L.A. will do it, as the Dodgers can very much justify keeping their prospects and just improving the margins of what is already MLB's best roster. Should the L.A. front office decide to get aggressive, however, the Reds will need to pick up the phone.
Emmet Sheehan has struggled to live up to 2025's success on the mound, with a 5.13 ERA and 1.26 WHIP across 18 starts and 87.2 innings. Still, the metrics point to imminent improvement, as the 26-year-old misses a ton of bats (99 strikeouts). He gets batters to chase without nibbling on the edges too often. He's a flyball pitcher who can get dinged around when his stuff isn't sharp, but Sheehan pitches with a tangible electricity — and he's under club control through 2030, a year longer than Greene.
The Dodgers also cough up outfielders Zhyir Hope and Charles Davalan, their No. 2 and No. 3 prospects. Both are top-100 prospects overall at MLB Pipeline.
That seems like a steep price. Hope, 22, probably competes for a spot in the Reds lineup next spring. Davalan, 21, needs a couple more years of seasoning, but he's an incredibly refined hitter. Both are. The Dodgers, however, can make this sacrifice without losing a wink of sleep. Los Angeles currently has nine prospects in MLB Pipeline's Top 100, including three in the top-30. Six of them are outfielders, including the entire top four in L.A.'s system. With Kyle Tucker and Andy Pagés locked up for a while potentially, the Dodgers need to allocate those assets somewhere.
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