Terry Francona’s comments just gave Reds fans a clue about Hunter Greene's future

Earlier this week, Terry Francona appeared on the first episode of the 2025-26 Reds Hot Stove League — a weekly radio show during the offseason featuring various players and coaches — and shared his thoughts on the team's performance this past season.

One player who's name came up was Hunter Greene. There've been a myriad of Reds rumors already circulating this offseason with some beat writers and pundits suggesting that Greene could be traded.

While Francona certainly didn't do anything to put those rumors to bed, he was at least speaking as if Greene was going to be part of the team next season. His comments, however, undoubtedly raised the eyebrows of a few offseason sleuths who are reading between the lines.

Reds Rumors: Terry Francona's comments won't silence the Hutner Greene trade chatter

Francona lauded both Nick Lodolo and Andrew Abbott, shared excitement about Chase Burns, and then turned his attention to Greene. "We need Hunter Greene to be healthy," Francona said. "That's a must. And we got to keep him healthy."

When Greene is on the mound, he's one of the best in the game. Staying healthy, however, has been a constant problem ever since he came into the league. The fireballer underwent Tommy John surgery while he was still in the minors, and now four years into his career, has only eclipsed 150 innings pitched once (2024). This past season, Greene dealt with a groin injury that limited him to just 19 starts and he barely crossed 100 innings of work.

One has to wonder if Greene's inability to stay healthy (or the manner in which the Reds are dealing with it) has been the biggest reason for the trade rumors this offseason. While neither Francona nor Nick Krall have publicly spoken about trading Greene, they've done nothing to silence the trade chatter either.

Though Francona didn't give Greene a vote of confidence, he didn't pretend as though he won't be around either. At the moment, the situation feels rather delicate.

Reds fans may receive more insight in the coming days with the GM Meetings scheduled to begin next week in Las Vegas. If some other executives get wind that there's a chance Greene might be moved this offseason, those Reds rumors will get much louder.