Yankees: Something’s up with Chad Green and we don’t like what we’re hearing

Can’t we just get through ONE spring training without an ominous update of sorts? One! Is that too much to ask?!

Aside from the minor issue with Clarke Schmidt, all has been well. The New York Yankees had their first two spring games with manager Aaron Boone deploying a number of guys. So far, so good. No other injuries.

But now, we have a reason to be concerned. Maybe it’s because we’re constantly triggered by anything vague in nature.

Long story short,

Chad Green

was supposed to pitch and make his spring debut on Tuesday. Jordan Montgomery was getting the start and he would be followed by Green, Luis Garcia and Trevor Lane.

Now? Green has been removed from the latest roster the Yankees have put out for tomorrow … five hours after Boone told the media he’d be pitching.

Can we please not have another back-breaking injury to kick off 2021? Let this be something minor … or, better yet, a typo.

Miguel Andújar was also removed from this roster, for what it’s worth. COVID protocols? Teammates pulling the veteran card and being held back? Who knows.

Green’s presence in the bullpen is beyond crucial. He’s the flame-throwing bridge to Zack Britton and Aroldis Chapman. He’s Boone’s weapon to pretty much deploy whenever he feels necessary. He brings the heat and complements it with a new, nasty hook. He’s stopped throwing his slider and instead added a sinker, which we could see more of in 2021 (he only threw it a few times last year).

As for his importance, he was dominant in 2017 and 2018 before the Yankees decided to toy with him and make him an opener. Throw 2019 out the window. He rebounded big time in 2021 and registered a 3.51 ERA and 0.82 WHIP with 32 strikeouts in 25.2 innings. He had an expected batting average of .161, a weighted on-base percentage of .218, and an expected weighted on-base percentage of .221, all of which were at least in the top 3% of the league.

If the Yankees were to be hit with bad news in regards to an injury, they’d have to do a lot more re-tooling with their bullpen than they would have liked. And then they’d regret not signing a guy like Archie Bradley earlier in the offseason. Otherwise, we could see increased roles from Jonathan Loaisiga, Nick Nelson and/or Luis Cessa. Not exactly what we want.

But let’s hope for the best, because this would be mentally draining, and an injury the team really cannot afford, especially if it’s a significant one.

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