Green open to being opener
TAMPA — With Masahiro Tanaka, James Paxton and J.A. Happ scripted to start the first three games of the season, the Yankees won’t be using a reliever as the starter against the Orioles.
However, they haven’t ruled out the strategy at some point during the season. So, they inserted Chad Green into the first inning of Tuesday’s 6-2 win over the Rays at George M. Steinbrenner Field.
“It’s another thing you can throw at different teams. I wouldn’t say every team is capable of doing it, but I would say our bullpen is deep enough. For us it makes sense,’’ said Green, who started 73 of his 84 minor league games, but only nine of 115 in the majors. “It worked for some teams last year. I could see us using it throughout the year.’’
Green gave up two hits and a tainted run thanks to a fielding error by Aaron Judge in the first inning.
As of Tuesday, Green said he hadn’t heard from the Yankees’ decision-makers about being used at the start of a game.
“Not necessarily t hat, but if we do have to use it we have done it before,’’ said Green, who appreciated working off a pristine mound instead of entering a game with the dirt gouged from previous hurlers. “If it comes up during the year, let’s prepare for it now.’’
Green’s electric s t uff qualifies him to pitch the first inning or two of a game, but if he is called on to do it in the regular season, he learned a lesson on Tuesday: shorten the warm-up session.
“I think I warmed up a little bit too early,’’ said Green, who started throwing in the pen at 12:50 p.m. and threw the first pitch at 1:08. “That will be something I have to figure out.’’
If the Yankees use a reliever to start a game, Jonathan Holder, Domingo German and Green are in the mix. Holder, a legitimate reliever, starts against the Astros in West Palm Beach on Wednesday. German, who has relieved and started in a brief big-league career, starts Thursday in Jupiter versus the Cardinals.
“We have talked about it the last couple of days. It was kind of on our board to get a look at it and give them all a little taste of it,’’ Aaron Boone said.
Experimenting in t he spring wouldn’t be happening, especially this late in the exhibition schedule, if the Yankees weren’t seriously thinking about using a reliever to start a game.
“I would say there is a chance at some point we use it,’’ Boone said. “How many times that is, I don’t know, but I would expect there is a good chance we would use it.’’