Yankees recall Chad Green, option Nestor Cortes Jr.

Last night’s game illustrated what could happen when the Yankees don’t have their top relievers available. Despite having an elite back-end of the bullpen, the depth of the relief corps could use shoring up. The Yankees will try to do just that today, as the team recalled Chad Green. As a corresponding move, Nestor Cortes Jr. was optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Green, 27, was expected to play a key role in the Yankees bullpen this season. Instead, he had a nightmare early showing, allowing 14 runs in 7.2 innings. He faced 43 batters and struck out only seven. He essentially became unusable and the team sent him to Triple-A to get straightened out.

For what it’s worth, Green appears to have had a successful stint with the RailRiders. There he allowed two runs over 7.1 innings, striking out 14 in the process. Green came on the Pinstripe Alley A Call Away podcast earlier this month, and he talked about working on his mechanics with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre pitching coach Tommy Phelps.

From 2017-2018, Green played an integral role in the Yankees’ endgame strategy. Across that span, he pitched to a 2.18 ERA (2.33 FIP) with a 12.26 K/9 rate. Getting that version of Green back would do wonders for the bullpen.

Cortes Jr., meanwhile, made his Yankees debut last night. He allowed three runs across two innings of work, with the damage coming off the bat of a Yandy Diaz home run. The left-hander has a 4.54 ERA (3.91 FIP) in 33.2 innings with the RailRiders. On a fun note, all reports indicate that he greatly looked forward to pitching for New York this season. Getting him in a game made for a feel-good story.

Are you happy to see Green back? Let us know in the comments section.