Reds place Hunter Greene, 2 other pitchers on injured list with COVID-19 as cases rise in the region

CINCINNATI — Three Reds pitchers won't be playing in a game for a little while.

The team announced Friday morning on social media that Hunter Greene was placed on the injured list Thursday due to COVID-19.

After the Reds lost to the Chicago Cubs in the first game in a Friday doubleheader, the team announced right-handed starter Ben Lively and reliever Fernando Cruz were also put on the COVID-19 list.

COVID-19 is trending upward in Southwest Ohio and Kentucky. New cases are the highest they've been since February, according to newly released data.

Weekly cases in Hamilton, Butler, Warren, Clermont, Highland, Clinton, Brown, Adams, Boone, Kenton, Campbell, Carroll, Gallatin, Owen, Grant, Pendleton, Bracken and Mason counties are up more than 6 times from June.

Thankfully, hospitalizations remain low throughout the majority of the Tri-State, according to CDC data. The only two counties to see substantial increases in hospitalizations are Clinton and Highland counties.

At the beginning of August, the CDC noted that there were upticks in cases nationwide.

While the CDC said the data is concerning, the rise isn’t as high as in previous summers.

This new COVID data also comes as the Ohio Department of Health announced that a new COVID variant has been detected in northeastern Ohio. Director Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff said the COVID-19 variant BA.2.86 has been detected in one case in Lorain County, which is just west of Cleveland.

The CDC said BA.2.86 is a notable variant because it has multiple mutations that make it distinct. Vanderhoff said there is no evidence that this variant is causing more severe illness though.

Outside of Ohio, the variant has only been detected in two other U.S. cases — one in Michigan and one in Virginia. There have been 21 other cases worldwide.

As for the Reds, they also said Jake Fraley was taken off the injured list and recalled Brett Kennedy from Triple-A Lousiville. The team also added Harrison Bader and Hunter Renfroe to the active roster. Greene had just recently returned from the injured list with right hip pain.