{"id":9076,"date":"2017-09-21T23:39:50","date_gmt":"2017-09-22T03:39:50","guid":{"rendered":"lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/\/?p=9076"},"modified":"2017-09-21T23:39:50","modified_gmt":"2017-09-22T03:39:50","slug":"chad-green-yankees-best-reliever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2017\/09\/21\/chad-green-yankees-best-reliever\/","title":{"rendered":"Chad Green is the Yankees’ Best Reliever"},"content":{"rendered":"

The New York Yankees<\/a> are in the middle of a close game with a division rival on a chilly September evening in the Bronx. Their starter is about throw his 100th pitch of the evening. Joe Girardi<\/a> <\/strong>picks up the phone to call bullpen coach Larry Rothschild<\/a><\/strong>. Rothschild picks up and nods. A lanky righty gets loose.\u00a0A few days later, the Bombers are in a sun-filled afternoon contest. It\u2019s only the fifth inning, yet Girardi is already looking at the pen, even though the Yankees have a comfortable lead. He calls on the same reliever.<\/span><\/p>\n

Chad Green is the Yankees’ Best Reliever<\/h2>\n

Such explains the tremendous versatility of the Yankees\u2019 newest relief ace. No, not Aroldis Chapman<\/a><\/strong> or Dellin Betances<\/a><\/strong>, but rather Chad Green<\/a><\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

So, how did Green go from a throw-in to one of\u00a0Girardi\u2019s most reliable options in a pennant race? It wasn\u2019t always easy.<\/span><\/p>\n

For two years, the South Carolina native toiled around in the Detroit Tigers<\/a>\u2019 farm system. He bounced around Michigan as he played for Erie and Lakeland, but never got a shot with the big league club. Green\u2019s most complete season came in 2015, as a member of the Erie Seawolves. He turned in 148 innings, pitching to a solid 3.93 ERA over 27 starts.<\/span><\/p>\n

But Green was never viewed as more than “solid,” which is why the Tigers were completely content with parting ways with him during that offseason.<\/span><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the Yankees had an extra resource of their own. With Andrew Miller<\/a><\/strong> in the fold for the foreseeable future, the Bombers deemed 2015 breakout star Justin Wilson<\/a> <\/strong>superfluous. That year, Wilson held down the seventh inning for the Yankees, striking out 66 batters in 61 frames.<\/span><\/p>\n

On December 11, the Yankees sent Wilson over to Detroit in exchange for Green and Luis Cessa<\/a><\/strong>, who had just finished a year of six-ERA ball for the Tigers\u2019 Triple-A team.<\/span><\/p>\n

Green spent only a month down in Scranton before being called up on May 16 to make his Major League debut as a starter. Unfortunately, his career started off on the wrong foot; Green allowed four runs to a dismal Arizona Diamondbacks<\/a> team and hurled 99 pitches before being yanked after the fourth inning. <\/span><\/p>\n

He was then sent back down and brought up to make his first relief appearance about a month later against the Tigers. Green fired a scoreless frame and was then sent back down again.<\/span><\/p>\n

Green opened the 2017 season, fittingly, in the minor leagues. He saw younger teammate Jordan Montgomery<\/strong><\/a> snatch the final rotation spot. The Yankees were sending Green a message that they were fully committed to using him as a reliever.<\/span><\/p>\n

Green was finally recalled on May 9. He opened that month by firing 9 1\/3 consecutive scoreless frames. Green was in the Bronx to stay. He hasn\u2019t been sent down since.<\/span><\/p>\n

He started to receive long-overdue recognition after showing his worth in crunch time. Since August 19, Green has struck out 24 batters over 12 1\/3 innings, allowing only one run. <\/span><\/p>\n

He\u2019s appeared in 35 games and has thrown at least one inning in 34 of those appearances, showing incredible durability and consistency. In all, he has a sparkling 1.96 ERA through 64 1\/3 innings pitched. He\u2019s been worth 2.5 wins to the Yankees this year. That\u2019s the third most of any American League reliever.<\/span><\/p>\n

The next time you see Green come out of the pen, don\u2019t be surprised. You\u2019re watching the best reliever on the Yankees.<\/span><\/p>\n

Embed from Getty Images<\/a>