2 Reds who should be signed to contract extensions and 1 who should not

The Reds should not sign Hunter Greene to a contract extension.

Aaron Ashby recently signed a five-year/$20.5M contract with the Milwaukee Brewers. Through escalators and club-options, the contract could be worth up to $46M over seven years. Ashby had appeared in less than 35 games prior to signing the contract extension.

Signing young pitchers to lucrative deals is a dangerous practice and one the Cincinnati Reds should table for now. If the team was unwilling to hand out a contract extension to the likes of Tyler Mahle and Luis Castillo, it's a god bet that the club won't be looking to sign Hunter Greene to a long-term contract.

Greene has had a productive first year in the bigs, but has seen a lot of ups and downs. Greene's 127 strikeouts leads the team. But he also leads Cincinnati in walks (41) and home runs allowed (23). Greene is currently on the IL with a shoulder strain but is expected to return before the end of the season.

There's always reason for concern when it comes to signing pitchers to long-term deals, especially considering that Greene underwent Tommy John surgery in 2019. While the right-hander seems to have recovered nicely, there's always that uneasiness that such an injury could occur again.

Of all the rookie pitchers who've appeared for the Cincinnati Reds in 2022, Hunter Greene has the most raw ability and could be a star for years to come. Nick Lodolo and Graham Ashcraft might be more polished, but on pure stuff, the nod goes to Greene.

Before the Reds are ready to dole out a check filled with a bunch of zeroes to any of their young hurlers, perhaps the team should see what type of progress the trio makes entering their second year in the bigs. After the 2023 season, perhaps the front office will be looking to lock up one or more of their starters for quite some time.