Yankees Shouldn’t Give Up on Chad Green Just Yet

New York Yankees starting pitcher Chad Green was optioned to Triple-A Scranton after an ugly start Friday against the Cleveland Indians, but should still be in consideration for a rotation spot.

There is no disputing the fact that Chad Green’s third career big league start Friday was a complete disaster. He allowed seven earned runs in 4.1 innings, including four long-balls, as the Yankees were blown out by the Indians 10-2.

Green was demoted back to Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre following the game, which allowed the Yankees to add another bullpen arm in Nick Goody for the last few games before the All Star break.

That doesn’t necessarily mean we have seen the last of Chad Green in the Yankees rotation though. He’s scheduled to make his next start on Thursday for the Railriders, but after that he’s lined up perfectly to start the Yankees’ fifth game after the All Star break.

Manager Joe Girardi indicated that the demotion may not entirely about Green’s performance in the blowout loss, telling Chad Jennings of The Journal News,

“I think Greeny going down is to keep him going more than (because of) how he pitched last night. Is there room for improvement? Yes. Is there room for more consistency? Yes. But to have him sit around and do nothing, we didn’t think it made a lot of sense.”

If Green does get another chance in the rotation, it’s not clear who he’d displace. He received his last two starts after the struggling Nathan Eovaldi was sent to the bullpen, but Joe Girardi told reporters at the time that it was just a temporary measure. 

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Eovaldi is too talented and too important to the team’s prospects of contention next year to waste him in the bullpen for long. Girardi has already announced that Michael Pineda, CC Sabathia, and Masahiro Tanaka will make the team’s first three starts after the All Star break.

Impending free agent Ivan Nova, whose performance has been no better than Eovaldi’s this year, seems like the clear candidate to get the boot. Nova has a 5.18 ERA in 80 innings this year, his second straight season with an ERA over five. The only explanation for leaving Nova in the rotation at this point is that they’re attempting to showcase him for a July trade.

In Green’s previous start, he held the Padres to just one run over six innings while striking out eight. He’s struck out 20 major league batters in 15.1 IP on the season, walking just three. The home runs are undeniably a problem (4.11 HR/9), but the majority came against a very good Indians lineup.

The best argument for having a little patience with Chad Green is he has been downright dominating International League batters this season. He has a 1.54 ERA and 2.16 FIP in 81.2 IP (14 GS). His peripherals are all strong, and he appears as ready as he will ever be for his shot in the big leagues.

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Green will be eligible to be recalled to the big league roster on July 19. Whether he is or not will indicate exactly how much faith the Yankees brass has in him going forward.