Yankees Rumors: The return of Shane Greene

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman recently said he’d like to acquire one starter and two relief pitchers before the July 31 deadline. Now, right-handed reliever Shane Greene is being linked with a potential return to the Bronx.

Despite Yankees starters C.C. Sabathia, Domingo German and J.A. Happ giving up six, eight, and six earned runs, respectively, in a combined 11 innings pitched versus the Twins to begin the week, the Bombers luckily took two out of three games because they outscored Minnesota 30-27.

Having won 25 games in their last 33 since June 15, the Yanks now boast the best record in the majors at 66-35. Sitting 10 games above the second-place Rays — and 12 games in the loss column, the Bombers have relied on a combination of offensive prowess and bullpen tenacity to overcome their starting rotation sourness.

With the market asking price for a rotation arm increasing by the day, GM Brian Cashman has recently dispersed his top scouts to get a closer look at Mike Minor, Marcus Stroman, Robbie Ray and Matthew Boyd.

And with that, those same clubs have sent their own contingent to understand further some of the brightest farmhands that the Yankees minor league system has in stock.

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While the likes of Noah Syndergaard and Trevor Bauer would make trading Deivi Garcia an easier pill to swallow, Bauer may no longer be on the block due to the Indians currently being locked in the Wild Card race — and well, the Mets always thinking they can contend next year.

So with that, George A. King III of the New York Post writes that the Yanks could swing a deal to solidify further their bullpen (especially with no one knowing if or when Dellin Betances will return in 2019).

The conversation revolves around trading for former Yankee, 30-year-old right-hander Shane Greene, who has blossomed into a legit big league late-inning reliever.

"While the asking price for Tigers starter Matthew Boyd might be too high for the Yankees, right-handed reliever Shane Greene, a former Yankee, is expected to be dealt and the Yankees have been shopping for bullpen help, too. The Tigers had a scout following Double-A Trenton for the past week and will go with the Thunder to Erie. Right-hander Deivi Garcia is considered by some organizations to be the Yankees’ top-overall prospect, so it’s not likely the Yankees would deal him straight up for Greene, a 30-year-old who will be a free agent after the 2020 season."

Originally drafted by the Yankees in 2009, Greene went 5-4 with a 3.78 ERA, 1.398 WHIP and an 81:29 K:BB ratio across in 78.2 innings pitched in his rookie season of 2014.

That winter, Greene was dealt as part of the three-team deal that netted the Yanks Didi Gregorius, sent Greene to the Tigers and Robbie Ray to the Diamondbacks. You could say the transaction worked out for all parties involved.

It only took the Tigers one season of poor performances from Greene to shift him to the bullpen where he has evolved into a superb shutdown option.

This season, Green made his first All-Star team and is currently featuring a 1.22 ERA, 0.865 WHIP, 10.0 K/9 and 22 saves in 37 innings.

Arbitration-eligible for the final time this offseason (making $4 million in ’19), it’s doubtful the Yanks would trade one of their top prospects for Greene but could put together an attractive package of secondary youngsters to entice the woeful Tigers.