The Yankees will shut down rookie right-hander Chad Green for the season, reports Andrew Marchand of ESPN.com. Green lasted just 1 2/3 innings in his start against the Orioles on Friday and was subsequently diagnosed with a sprained right UCL and a strained flexor tendon.
While New York is losing a valuable arm in the middle of the American League wild-card race, the good news is that Green doesn’t expect to undergo Tommy John surgery.
“From what I know now, it is not worst case,” Green said.
Green now joins Nathan Eovaldi as the second Yankees starter to succumb to a season-ending elbow injury. Eovaldi underwent a Tommy John procedure last month and will miss all of next season as a result.
Along with fellow righty Luis Cessa, Green was one of two pitchers the Yankees acquired from Detroit for left-handed reliever Justin Wilson during the offseason. Green was dominant this year at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, where he logged a 1.52 ERA, 9.16 K/9 and 2.00 BB/9 in 94 2/3 innings. He wasn’t nearly as successful with the Yankees, though the 25-year-old still showed promise. In 12 outings, eight of which were starts, he posted a 4.73 ERA, 10.2 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9.
Either Luis Severino or Bryan Mitchell is likely to take Green’s spot in the rotation for the time being, per Marchand. One of those two will get the ball Wednesday against Toronto.