Yankees' Chad Green declines to discuss forearm injury, but it doesn't look great
New York Yankees relief pitcher Chad Green reacts against the Cleveland Guardians during the eighth inning of an MLB baseball game at Yankee Stadium on Saturday, April 23, 2022. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Chad Green declined to get into any specifics on Friday about the forearm discomfort that forced him out of Thursday’s game. All he would divulge is that he was checked out by Yankees doctors.
But when asked how he was feeling, the righthander said: “I’ve been better.”
If you’re reading the tea leaves, it doesn’t look good for Green. Forearm injuries often are a precursor to elbow injuries, and even if he wasn’t going to say anything until all the doctors had weighed in, the expression on Green’s face might have told the story.
The Yankees already are dealing with what manager Aaron Boone said is “a significant injury” to pitching prospect Luis Gil. Again, the team did not release any specifics, but Gil left a start for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Wednesday because of an apparent elbow injury.
The Yankees did announce one thing: At 3:36 p.m., they postponed Friday night’s 7:05 p.m. home game against the White Sox because of impending bad weather. The game will be made up as part of single-admission doubleheader on Sunday, with the opener starting at 3:05 p.m. The second game will start no earlier than 7:05 p.m.; it is the ESPN Sunday night contest.
Nestor Cortes will start on Saturday, with Luis Severino and Jameson Taillon slated for the doubleheader in an order to be determined. Boone mentioned Triple-A lefthander JP Sears as a candidate to be slotted in when the Yankees need a sixth starter, which they most likely will on Wednesday.
Friday’s Andy Pettitte bobblehead giveaway has been rescheduled for June 10.
Righthander Ron Marinaccio was in the Yankees' clubhouse. He likely will be activated on Saturday when the Yankees place Green on the injured list.
How long will Green be on that list? Here’s what Boone had to say:
“We’re still waiting for him to kind of confer with [Yankees doctor Christopher] Ahmad and get all the opinions and everything. So we’ll see what we have.”
Asked if the concern is that Green has “a significant injury” like Gil, Boone said: “Yeah, I think there’s that fear, sure. It’s definitely a concern right now, but I’d rather him get with the doctors and kind of see where we’re at by the end of the day and tomorrow.”
Green, 30, has been a stalwart in the Yankees' bullpen after joining them in a trade with the Tigers in December 2015. This season, he is 1-1 with a 3.00 ERA and one save in 14 appearances. His career record is 33-22 with a 3.17 ERA and 11 saves. Green will be a free agent after the season.
Gil, who will turn 23 on June 3, made one spot start for the Yankees this season, going four innings and allowing four runs against the White Sox on May 12. The righthander began his big-league career with 15 2/3 shutout innings last season and went 1-1 with a 3.07 ERA in six starts.
He was in the mix for another call-up when needed, but those plans will be on hold for a while, apparently.
“It’s a significant injury,” Boone said. “But they’re still kind of working through opinions and all that, so I don’t want to get too far into it. But it’s significant.”
On how this could affect Gil’s future, Boone said: “He’s a young man and he’s got a lot of talent. Unfortunately, this is part of it sometimes. Injury, unfortunately, is part of the game sometimes. You’ve got to handle that as a professional athlete sometimes, and how you deal with it sometimes allows you to, in some cases — especially when you’re a young man --- you can come back better for it. I think you find out a lot about yourself and your character, your dedication and your work habits, and sometimes those things can all get better through adversity that comes your way, in this case an injury.”
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.
