New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone had one phrase to describe bullpen arm Chad Green, and that was, “swiss army knife.”
Green featured in a bevy of roles last season, acting as an opener, a relief pitcher, and even a closer on a few occasions. His talents stretch beyond that of a standard back-end relief arm, and that’s how they plan to utilize him in 2020.
Green opened in 15 games in 2019, closed in 10, and earned two saves. His 3.16 ERA over the span of the year was impressive, considering the different hats he put on.
“Obviously we’ve used him in the opener scenarios, we’ve even toyed with the starting thing at different times,'” Boone explained. “But he can be one of our main high-leverage set-up men as well. I feel like his versatility really gives us an edge to our blend down there with all the things he can provide.”
Keeping Green healthy will be the priority moving forward, as fatigue undoubtedly settled in during the postseason last year.
“As need comes up we’ll use [him as the opener] but hopefully we’re talking about a scenario where we’ve largely stayed healthy in our rotation,” Boone further commented. “And now we can plug Greeny into a lot more different roles in the ‘pen.”
The New York Yankees are confident in their bullpen:
The current Yankees bullpen contains plenty of talent: Adam Ottavino, Tommy Kahnle, Zack Britton, Aroldis Chapman, and plenty more.
The addition of Gerrit Cole to the starting rotation gives the Yanks plenty of firepower to work through multiple innings without having to dip into the bullpen too early. One of the realities that forced the Bombers into a fatigue-ridden situation last postseason was the starters’ inability to survive for multiple innings before getting pulled.
A three-man rotation of Cole, James Paxton, and Luis Severino in the postseason will provide ample talent and innings to remains rested. Not to mention they have Masahiro Tanaka, who’s an experienced playoff pitcher, available if need be.