Blue Jays signing former Yankees reliever Chad Green in pesky move

Chad Green is no longer a New York Yankee. The end of an era. After seven seasons with the Bombers, Green, who is currently injured, signed with the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday. He'll remain in the AL East.

Green, 31, suffered a torn UCL in his contract year last May and underwent Tommy John surgery in June. He's probably not going to pitch at all in 2023 unless his rehab goes incredibly well. Sometimes relievers can get back on the mound faster than starters, but in recent years, the approach for both has been rather careful.

One would have to assume this is a two-year deal for Green due to the injury. The Blue Jays will pay somewhere around league minimum for 2023 and then a larger guaranteed salary for 2024, kind of like what the Los Angeles Dodgers did with Tommy Kahnle after the 2020 season.

Green's departure coincides with Aroldis Chapman's (he signed with the Royals) and the expected departure of Zack Britton, who previously drew interest from the Dodgers and Mets (but we've heard nothing since).

Out of the three, Green figures to have the most productive years remaining. Chapman's downswing has been significant, while Britton's entering his mid-30s coming off a modified version of Tommy John surgery that clearly didn't work.

Blue Jays sign former Yankees reliever Chad Green

And that's what makes the Blue Jays' decision to sign Green fairly annoying. Although this doesn't help them whatsoever for 2023, Toronto's outlook for 2024 improves, especially since they stand to lose a number of pitchers after this coming season.

Although Green's effectiveness really took a hit from 2019-2021, he was still one of the most valuable relievers on the Yankees due to his versatility. Perhaps the Yankees' biggest mistake was using him as an opener in 2019 after he was one of the best relievers in the sport from 2017-2018.

As a two-pitch reliever, Green gradually became more and more susceptible to the long ball beginning in 2019. His fastball location diminished and opposing hitters made him pay (he allowed 29 home runs since the start of 2019).

Some fans were hoping the Yankes would've made the move to re-sign Green and stash him for 2024, but it appears they've been willing to move on for a while. We'll still get an up-close look at him when he's ready to go, but it'll be bittersweet to see one of his poorly-located fastballs getting crushed by one of the Yankees' star sluggers.