Green is placed on IL and might need surgery
Chad Green is facing possible surgery, but is gathering more opinions on the right forearm discomfort that caused him to leave Thursday’s game in the middle of an at-bat. The right-handed reliever has what looks like a “significant injury,” Aaron Boone said before Saturday afternoon’s game.
“He’s kind of still gathering [information], making sure we’re tight on a couple more opinions. So we should have more potentially later in the day but, it looks like a significant injury. But we’ll have more for you when we finalize those opinions and decisions are made,” the Yankees manager said.
The Yankees placed him on the injured list Saturday to get Ron Marinaccio on the roster and have coverage in the bullpen, particularly with a doubleheader on Sunday.
Green has been a stalwart in the Yankees bullpen for the last few years. Over seven seasons with the Yankees, the 30-year-old has a 3.17 career ERA in 272 appearances. He has pitched 383.2 innings and struck out 494. Last season, he made 67 appearances, struck out 99 over 83.2 innings pitched. In 14 appearances this season, over 15 innings pitched he has struck out 16 and allowed five earned runs.
Green was in the clubhouse before Friday’s game was postponed and said he had some decisions to make. He was concerned about his arm, but Boone said that he was handling it better than the manager.
“It was pretty emotional for me honestly. Chad’s a lot that’s right about our sport. It’s Chad Green. Just in the way he competes, how he takes care of himself. The professional that he is. The respect he carries in that room. The track record of consistent success. So, it’s difficult,” Boone said.
TOMMY JOHN SURGERY FOR GIL
Pitching prospect Luis Gil is headed for Tommy John surgery, Yankees manager Aaron Boone confirmed Saturday. The right-hander left his start with Triple-A Scranton on Wednesday night with what Boone said was a significant elbow injury.
Boone said he believes Dr. Christopher Ahmad, the Yankees’ team doctor, will perform the procedure on Tuesday.
Gil made a spot start for the big league club in Chicago last week allowing four earned runs on five hits over four innings. He walked two and struck out six.
He made a big splash when he came up to the big leagues last season. He did not give up a run through his first three starts. He ended up making six emergency starts for the Yankees as they dealt with injuries. The 23-year-old finished with a 3.07 ERA. He struck out 38 over 29.1 innings pitched, but also walked 19.
PITCHING SHUFFLE
With the rainout on Friday night, the Yankees rotation will once again need a spot starter. Jameson Taillon and Luis Severino will stay on schedule and pitch in the doubleheader on Sunday. It is likely the Yankees will use JP Sears on Wednesday against the Orioles instead of waiting until their big series against the Rays in St. Petersburg next weekend.
“We’ll kind of see how the next several days kind of unfolds for us,” Boone said.
Sears started for Triple-A Scranton on Friday night, which would line him up for Wednesday’s start.
“JP’s throwing the ball really well. He was gonna start today, but we had him go last night so I think he pitched four-plus innings and threw the ball really well,” Boone said. “I haven’t watched his outing yet but all reports are that he threw the ball really well yesterday and has been throwing the ball well.”
Sears went 4.2 innings, allowing one earned run on six hits, striking out seven and walking one against Worcester Friday night.
Hayden Wesneski, the Yankees’ sixthround draft pick in 2019, is a pitcher that could be in the conversation for one of these starts down the road. The right-hander has a 2.31 ERA with 41 strikeouts in 39 innings pitched over eight starts with Triple-A right now. He is not on the 40-man roster, but that can change over the course of this season.
One pitcher who is not in consideration right now is Deivi Garcia. The slight righthander who broke into the big leagues with a splash in 2020 is struggling at Triple-A. He’s sporting an ugly 9.90 ERA over six Triple-A starts this season. He has struck out 18 and walked 16 over 20 innings pitched.