Predicting landing spots for 4 former Yankees still stuck in free agency

Chad Green Prediction: Los Angeles Dodgers

The Yankees have stolen Tommy Kahnle from Los Angeles after the Dodgers pulled their patented bullpen move and bought out his Tommy John rehab season in hopes of reaping the benefits of the healthy year to follow.

Spoiler alert? They’re going to do it again with Chad Green, even though things didn’t work out spectacularly with the changeup artist (or Blake Treinen, who’ll be rehabbing his shoulder issue on the Dodgers’ dime next year, too).

Green underwent UCL surgery at the beginning of June 2022. That means, even if we assume the fastest rehab possible, it’s still unlikely he contributes at all before the end of the 2023 season; the typical timeline involves 12-18 months of recovery time.

Remember Zack Britton’s “unorthodox” strategy to avoid Tommy John/get him back to the Bronx sooner? That didn’t exactly revolutionize the injury. Green will probably go about things in more standard fashion.

That means he’ll be going to an analytically-inclined team with enough patience (and cash) to absorb an empty season in order to make a big bet on 2024. Green’s best pitch has always been his fastball, which means A) he’s become a bit more predictable in recent years and B) he’s got a few more good years left if somebody’s gas house gets their hands on him.

Enter Mark Prior, aka the Spin Rate Doctor. He’ll know what to do, and he’ll help Green more than the other pitching coaches shopping in the minor-league deal bargain bin.