![Blue Jays sign reliever Chad Green, expected to miss part of 2023 after Tommy John surgery, per report Blue Jays sign reliever Chad Green, expected to miss part of 2023 after Tommy John surgery, per report](https://i1.wp.com/sportshub.cbsistatic.com/i/2023/01/31/e57bc5c4-d067-43f3-92a9-caacace9018e/green-getty.png?w=1200&resize=1200,0&ssl=1)
The Toronto Blue Jays have agreed to sign right-handed reliever Chad Green to a two-year, $8.5 million deal that includes options for the 2025 and 2026 season, according to Shi Davidi. Green had Tommy John surgery last June, so he’ll miss most of the 2023 season, if not all of it. That’s where the two-year deal and options come into play. Any work Green does toward the end of the 2023 season would be a bonus for the Jays.
Green, 31, has been a reliable reliever for the Yankees for years in addition to making 24 starts. In the last three seasons out of the bullpen, he has pitched to a 3.18 ERA and 0.91 WHIP with 147 strikeouts against 26 unintentional walks in 124 1/3 innings. He’s had success in nearly any role, whether short spurts, multi-inning efforts, save situations, setting up or the middle innings.
If Green can return this season, he’d beef up the late-inning corps for the Blue Jays in front of closer Jordan Romero. Toronto acquired righty Erik Swanson from the Mariners earlier this offseason and also can use the likes of Yimi García, Adam Cimber, Anthony Bass and Tim Mayza.
The Jays went 92-70 last season, securing the top AL wild card, though they lost to the Mariners in two games in the Wild Card Round after a historic meltdown in Game 2. They’d like to avoid a repeat and adding bullpen depth is part of the plan, both for 2023 and beyond.