Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Hunter Greene. Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

Reds ace wants star infielder to pay for car damage

By Victor Barbosa | Last updated 2/20/24

Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Hunter Greene's car was on the receiving end of some friendly fire Tuesday afternoon during a live batting practice session with infielder Elly De La Cruz.

Now, the Reds ace wants the star infielder to pay up.

This is hard to believe. This Elly De La Cruz foul ball during live BP off Hunter Greene smashed the rear driver’s side window of Greene’s luxury SUV. “You’re paying for it” Greene said. EDLC’s answer? “You make more than me.” pic.twitter.com/JlCI8wxPsL
— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) February 20, 2024

De La Cruz is correct in saying the Greene makes more money than him.

The 21-year-old speedster burst on the scene as a rookie last summer, finishing the season with 13 home runs, 44 RBI and 35 stolen bases across 388 at-bats covering just 98 games.

According to Spotrac, De La Cruz made $720K in 2023.

Greene was selected by Cincinnati with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2017 MLB June Amateur Draft and made his debut in April 2022. The flamethrower has shown glimpses of his tantalizing talent on the mound but has battled injuries, control issues and inconsistencies as well.

In two seasons, Greene has gone 9-20 with a 4.62 ERA and 1.30 WHIP but has racked up 316 strikeouts over 237 2/3 innings pitched in 46 starts.

The Reds signed the 24-year-old to a six-year, $53M contract extension in April 2023 and he is set to make $3M in 2024.

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