Chad Green has called time on a 10-season MLB career at age 35, ending the possibility of a return that briefly lingered after he left the game in April. The former New York Yankees reliever said he officially shut the door on baseball that month after nothing materialized from the workouts and throwing he kept doing once he was designated last year.
That matters now because the New York Yankees were still looking for bullpen help, and Green had once been the kind of arm they trusted in the biggest spots. He spent seven seasons with the Yankees after being selected by the Detroit Tigers in the 11th round of the 2013 MLB Draft, then moving to New York in December 2015 with Luis Cessa in the deal for Justin Wilson. He reached the majors with the Yankees in 2016 and quickly became a difference-maker, posting a 1.83 ERA and 103 strikeouts in 69 innings in 2017 before starting 15 games as the club’s primary opener in 2019.
His run in New York ended in May 2022 when an elbow injury led to Tommy John surgery, but his career line still shows how valuable he was: 33-22 with a 3.17 ERA, 494 strikeouts and 11 saves in 272 appearances. He also delivered one of the most precise moments of that stretch in 2021, when he threw an Immaculate Inning in Game 2 of a Subway Series doubleheader, needing nine pitches to retire Michael Conforto, Jeff McNeil and Jonathan Villar.
Green’s retirement leaves one question unanswered: what kind of offer would have been enough to pull him back. He said he was still working out and ready to go if the right opportunity came along, but once that did not happen, he turned his attention to spending time with his kids and left the decision open only in the loosest sense.
