GOODYEAR, Ariz. (AP) — Right-hander Hunter Greene has left the Cincinnati Reds' spring training camp due to right elbow stiffness.
Manager Terry Francona and president of baseball operations Nick Krall told reporters on Wednesday that Greene will have an MRI in Cincinnati and be examined by team orthopedic consultant Dr. Timothy Kremchek. Greene also will consult with Los Angeles Dodgers head team physician Dr. Neal ElAttrache.
Expected to be the Reds' ace, Greene added more lower-body work to his offseason routine in hopes of avoiding injuries.
Greene went 7-4 with a 2.76 ERA last year, helping Cincinnati earn an NL wild card for its first playoff appearance since 2020. Greene, whose 99.5 mph average four-seam fastball velocity led the major leagues among those throwing at least 1,250 pitches, was limited to a career-low 19 starts and 107 2/3 innings. Still, his 296 pitches of 100 mph or higher were second in the major leagues behind Mason Miller's 422.
Greene was placed on the 15-day injured list on May 9 with a right groin strain. He returned on May 23 and made three starts before going back on the IL with the same injury. This time, he was sidelined until Aug. 13.
Greene, 26, is entering his fifth big ;eague season. He made the NL All-Star team for the first time in 2024 while going 9-5 with a 2.75 ERA in 26 starts. He also had 169 strikeouts in 150 1/3 innings despite spending time on the IL that year with elbow soreness.
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FILE Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Hunter Greene throws to a Los Angeles Dodgers batter during the first inning in Game 1 of the National League Wild Card baseball playoff series, Sept. 30, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, file)
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum on Wednesday met in Venezuela with acting President Delcy Rodríguez in the latest sign of the Trump administration’s intent to exercise control over the South American country’s natural resources.
Burgum, who leads U.S. President Donald Trump’s National Energy Dominance Council, and Rodríguez met with representatives of more than two dozen U.S. mining and minerals companies, many of which had previously operated in Venezuela. The two-day visit comes as the administration seeks to defend against China’s hold on critical minerals — some of which are abundant in Venezuela — and advances its phased plan to turn around the long-troubled country.
“When we are working together in can only mean two things, which is prosperity for the people of Venezuela and for the citizens of the United States, and it also brings peace and stability for the world,” Burgum told reporters standing next to Rodríguez, whom he praised for her efforts “to cut the red tape and allow capital investment to flow.”
The companies, he said, “represent billions of dollars in investment and thousands of dollars in high-paying jobs.”
Burgum became the latest U.S. official to travel to Caracas to meet with Rodríguez, who was sworn in following the capture by U.S. forces of then-President Nicolás Maduro two months ago. His trip follows a February visit by Energy Secretary Chris Wright, which was focused on the country's oil potential.
The Republican administration is making bold moves to shore up supplies of critical minerals needed for electric vehicles, missiles and other high-tech products after China choked off their flow in response to Trump’s sweeping tariffs last year. While the two global powers reached a truce to pull back on the high import taxes and stepped-up rare earth restrictions, China’s limits remain tighter than they were before Trump took office.
In addition to oil, Venezuela is rich in gold, copper, coltan, bauxite, diamonds and other precious mined resources, while unsafe working conditions are common in the poorly regulated industry. The elements niobium and tantalum, both considered critical minerals and crucial for smartphones and the batteries of electric vehicles, are extracted from coltan. Bauxite is processed into aluminum, which the U.S. also lists as a critical mineral.
Rodríguez on Wednesday announced she will introduce a bill to overhaul the country’s mining law. The change, expected to attract foreign investments, will be “a win for the social well-being of our people.”
“May the Venezuelan people also see the good aspects of having good relations with the world and with the United States of America,” she told reporters.
Trump, who stunned Venezuelans in and outside their home country for his decision to work with Rodríguez, a Maduro loyalist, following his Jan. 3 ouster, praised the acting president for her cooperation with the U.S.
“Delcy Rodríguez, who is the President of Venezuela, is doing a great job, and working with U.S. Representatives very well,” Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social while Rodríguez and Burgum were meeting.
Before his capture, Maduro and his allies claimed U.S. hostility was motivated by lust for Venezuela’s rich oil and mineral resources.
Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodriguez, right, and U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum arrive for a meeting at Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodriguez, right, and U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum meet at Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum smiles during a meeting with Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodriguez at Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodriguez, behind, and U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum meet Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
