​ST LOUIS, MISSOURI – JULY 25: Hunter Greene #21 of the Cincinnati Reds pitches against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium on July 25, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Joe Puetz/Getty Images) | Getty Images ‘Getting a second opinion in Los Angeles from Dr. Neal El Attrache’ is thinly veiled code for a baseball player about to go under the knife for surgery. The only question at that point, of course, is the level of severity, but if it’s a second opinion odds are there has already been at least one medical professional who has recommended the deepest, darkest depths of surgical options.That’s even more so when it’s a pitcher who’s undergone both Tommy John surgery once, already, as well as a ‘cleanup’ procedure within the last four months.So, it should come as no surprise that the news about the prized right elbow of Cincinnati Reds starter Hunter Greene was not good on Friday afternoon. He’ll need elbow surgery, for sure, with the level between internal bracing and an outright second Tommy John surgery to be determined once the docs get in there.MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon relayed the initial news.Either procedure will dent Greene’s chances of making any sort of impact on the 2027 season. His 2026 season, obviously, is now kaput.In other words, the news today is that the Reds officially get to not only try to navigate through a sea of landmines towards an outside shot at the last National League Wild Card spot without one of their co-aces this year, they also get to spend all winter trying to legitimately put together another one of those shots on a shoestring budget without one of the two players in whom they’ve actually invested money in over the last handful of seasons.It’s backbreaking in many ways, since 4-5 WAR pitchers just don’t grow on trees. Even if the Reds have Greene’s contract insured for 2027 for the $15.33 million he’ll be owed, you can’t just go sign those guys – and definitely can’t for just that little. So, the Reds get to completely alter the way they approach the 2027 season strategically with today’s news, and I have little faith they’ll be able to pull that off.Hell, even keeping Brady Singer around on a Qualifying Offer for ‘27 will set them back some $24 million, if there isn’t a lockout to shut everything down accordingly.The good news, if there is any, is that there have been several MLB pitchers who’ve had Tommy John surgery twice and come back just fine. The likes of Nathan Eovaldi and Jameson Taillon are two, while Chris Paddack’s career at least didn’t completely flatline after his. Dustin May, similarly, has managed to get back to being big-league caliber even though he hasn’t yet reached the heights of when he first broke in.So, maybe this is just another blip on Greene’s radar, even though it’s yet another injury that’s going to set the Reds roster back years in the process.