Reds gain small (but meaningful) roster advantage after Hunter Greene injury

The loss of Hunter Greene to an elbow injury is a huge blow to the Cincinnati Reds. There's no two ways around it, you'd prefer to have your ace healthy and available than not. But that doesn't mean that there aren't silver linings.

Fortunately, the Reds have the depth to survive such an injury, and Greene's eventual landing on the 60-day IL will open up a valuable 40-man roster spot for the club. For some non-roster invitee who looked like a long shot to remain with the club through the spring, it's a new lease on life.

Who that spot should go to is abundantly clear. Nathaniel Lowe has shown some real punch in his bat as he fights for a job. The 30-year-old has two home runs over 10 spring games, while slashing .240/.321/.520. He was facing an uphill battle to crack the Opening Day roster because his minors deal left him off the 40-man, but that shouldn't be the case anymore.

Hunter Greene's injury will open a roster spot for Nathaniel Lowe

Lowe is coming off a down year in which he posted a career-low 91 wRC+, marking the first time the career 117 wRC+ hitter has recorded a below league-average performance in his career.

With that said, many of those struggles came with the miserable Washington Nationals. Once Washington cut him loose, he landed with the Boston Red Sox and put up a much more representative 114 wRC+ over the season's final 34 games.

Lowe has a Silver Slugger (2022), a Gold Glove (2023), and a World Series ring all on his résumé from his time with the Texas Rangers, making him an unlikely player to be forced to settle for a minor league contract and valuable depth to keep around.

While the Reds have no shortage of corner infield types, with Sal Stewart, Eugenio Suarez, Spencer Steer, and Ke'Bryan Hayes all populating the first and third base depth charts, all four are right-handed hitters. Lowe, a lefty, therefore gives Cincinnati another option with a different look. He'd also be another bat, other than Elly De La Cruz, who can provide consistent pop from the left side.

Greene's eventual return in July will cause another shuffle, and it's unclear if Lowe will survive beyond that, but that will be the least of the Reds' worries. When Greene returns, it will force the organization to start thinking long and hard about the injury-prone ace's future.

That's a conversation for another time. Now, the Reds can make lemonade out of lemons by keeping a talented player in the organization when it seemed that he was destined to receive his walking papers just a week ago.