Yankees add bullpen depth with former Dodgers relief arm

shane greene, yankees

After losing several bullpen pieces this past week, the New York Yankees needed to hit the free-agent market to pick up a few depth pieces. The Bombers signed former St. Louis Cardinals All-Star Matt Carpenter to supplement infield deficiencies. On Thursday, Carpenter made his first appearance against the Tampa Bay Rays, driving in a run after being hit by a pitch.

However, general manager Brian Cashman signed former Los Angeles Dodgers bullpen arm Shane Greene to a contract as well.

What is Shane Greene bringing to the Yankees?

Greene spent the 2014 season with the Yankees, hosting a 3.78 ERA over 78.2 innings pitched. Since then, he’s had an inconsistent ride, spending time with the Detroit Tigers, Atlanta Braves, and Dodgers.

He made one appearance over 2.0 innings this season before being designated for assignment on May 17. Greene was originally drafted by the Yankees back in 2019 but was sent to Detroit in the deal that brought Didi Gregorius to the Yankees. Greene became an All-Star with the Tigers in 2019, but has fallen off considerably after posting a 7.23 ERA in 2021 with Atlanta and LA.

However, the Yankees may need to rely on Greene after dealing with so many injuries. They lost Chad Green, Jonathan Loáisiga, and Aroldis Chapman this past week to a varying degrees of injury.

Shane features a fastball, slider, cutter, and changeup. His fastball hovers around 92 mph, a bit slower than his career average at 93.3. He features a healthy dosage of each pitch in his sequence, and if injuries continue to mount, Aaron Boone could pull him up in the next few days.