Chad Green broke into the Major Leagues with the New York Yankees, who acquired him in a savvy deal with the Detroit Tigers alongside Luis Cessa. The right-hander enjoyed an excellent career in the Bronx, striking out 32.4% of batters faced with a 3.23 ERA across 395.2 innings pitched before having his 2022 season cut short due to a UCL tear. He would undergo Tommy John Surgery and sign with the Toronto Blue Jays, where he’s had an up-and-down tenure on a team that’s spiraled from contenders to bottom-dwellers.
Jon Morosi of MLB Network reports that the Yankees are showing interest in Green, who has a 1.88 ERA across 28 appearances but hasn’t missed as many bats while allowing a ton of home runs.
Yankees Could Target Chad Green to Bolster the Bullpen
This season has been confusing for Chad Green to say the least, who has a 1.88 ERA and is sitting 95.3 MPH on his fastball, but doesn’t project particularly well. His strikeout rate is a career-worst 21.8%, and that’s due to his four-seamer not having the vertical ride it did with the Yankees.
Whether that’s a matter of adjusting his release point or just a product of his Tommy John Surgery isn’t clear, that’s a concerning decline that has led to his fastball getting hit more often. Every underlying metric suggests he’s due for some regression, with a 4.35 xERA and a 4.79 FIP that stems from how hard batters are hitting the baseball against him.
READ MORE: The Yankees made a genius change in the batting order
They’re averaging 92.8 MPH in their exit velocity with a below-average strikeout rate, leading me to believe that this would not be a wise acquisition for Brian Cashman to make. I’m not sure he would be an upgrade over guys like Jake Cousins, Tim Hill, or Michael Tonkin and if he isn’t then it would be a complete waste to use trade chips to get him.
Owed roughly $10.5 million towards the Luxury Tax, perhaps the Yankees can acquire him for pennies on the dollar with the Blue Jays eating some salary. Even then, there are higher-upside project relievers on the market who will both cost you less for the next two seasons and provide you with much more value.