NL Notes: Reds draftee Greene makes bank

Hunter Greene has already made headlines with his dazzling skills. Now, he’s hitting the front page with his paycheck.

Greene inked a $7.5 million signing bonus with the Reds this week. It’s the largest signing bonus the game has ever seen, and with Greene’s potential, it just might be worth it. The 17-year-old from SoCal boasts both pitching and hitting talent, and the Reds have to be excited about what they could get out of Greene in the near future.

Here’s what else is happening around the National League:

For twenty years, Bartolo Colon has dazzled fans with his blazing fastball, lightning basepath speed, and overall attractiveness. Now, these wondrous qualities will be subjected to minor-league eyes. That’s right, the Braves have sent Colon to the Twins, who assigned him to Triple-A Rochester. It’s a curious move for Atlanta, a club that spent extensive amounts of time pulling Colon from the Mets over this offseason. You can’t blame them, really—Colon sells tickets, hot dogs, and programs. You never know when he might go deep again! In all seriousness, if this is the end of the road for Colon, he’s had an incredible career that has withstood the test of time.

Sonny Gray is having an impressive season as a reliable starter for Oakland, but it’s becoming more and more likely that Gray won’t finish the season in the confines of the Coliseum. The rumors are brewing (no pun intended) that Gray is being looked at by the Brewers, a club that unexpectedly appears to be gunning for a division title. Milwaukee hasn’t gone to the postseason since 2011, so expect management to pull some strings over the next few weeks here.

Washington, D.C. weather is never easy to figure out, but the Nationals might have to improve their radar after this latest delay fiasco. Friday night’s Braves-Nats tilt didn’t get underway until 10:10 EST, three hours after the expected first pitch, as the Nationals tried to avoid rain storms that never came. Maybe the front office should spend a little less on Bryce Harper come winter 2018, and allocate some funds towards a team meteorologist.

Not a big surprise here. After Miguel Montero blamed Jake Arrieta for his struggles throwing base-stealers out, the Cubs elected to trade Montero to the Blue Jays. This move makes so much sense. The Cubbies are struggling in their post-title season; the last thing they need is a locker-room cancer in Montero, a guy who didn’t even seem all that popular around the North Side to begin with.