Toronto Blue Jays sign RHP Chad Green to two-year, $8.5M contract

Longtime division rival Chad Green is officially leaving the New York Yankees. After a successful seven-year run in the Bronx, Green is signing a two-year deal with the Toronto Blue Jays while he recovers from Tommy John surgery.

It is a bit of a homecoming tale for Green as he officially joins the organization that drafted him in the 37th-round of the 2010 MLB Draft way back when. No deal was reached and he went on to sign with the Tigers after being selected in the 11th-round of the 2013 draft.

Green, 31, has been an under-the-radar pitcher for the entirety of his big league career despite the fact that he's playing for the Yankees. He's been a reliable and durable arm for the club, serving as a starting pitcher, middle reliever, closer and even an opener at times.

In 272 career games, he is 33-22 with a 3.17 ERA, 3.29 FIP and 137 ERA+. He has 494 strikeouts in 383 innings, good for an 11.6 K/9, a highly impressive number to have over the course of almost a decade in the bigs.

At this point in his career, Green is a two-pitch pitcher who utilizes both a fourseam fastball and a curveball against opposing hitters. His fastball sits in the mid-90s and can reach up to 97 and hitters managed just a .185 batting average against it in 2021, his last full season.

His mid-80s curveball has lost a little bit of bite to it over the years but still pairs nicely with the fastball. In 2021, the pitch surrendered an opponent batting average of just .213.

Last year, Green made just 14 appearances before leaving a game in May and undergoing Tommy John surgery a short while later. His recovery will take him out of big league action for the majority of the upcoming campaign, if not the entirety.

Green's contract with the Blue Jays is an interesting one, as it has a conditional player option in it. The details are below from Ken Rosenthal. Regardless of how the option years shake out, Green will be a Blue Jay for a minimum of two years.

Green will not immediately require a spot on the active roster for the Jays but until he can formally be placed on the 60-day injured list, he is going to require a spot on the 40-man. Fellow bullpen arms Trevor Richards, Thomas Hatch or Trent Thornton seem the likeliest to go.