Blue Jays RP Chad Green Leaves Game After Catcher Hit Him in Head With Throw

The Toronto reliever was on a Triple-A assignment when the incident occurred on Tuesday.

Blue Jays reliever Chad Green was removed from a minor league rehab assignment on Tuesday night after he was inadvertently hit in the head on a throw down to second base by catcher Tyler Heineman.

Green, who was nearing his debut with the Blue Jays following Tommy John surgery last year, signed a two-year contract with Toronto this offseason. The 32-year-old pitcher gave up one hit on 11 pitches in two-thirds of an inning before leaving the game. He’s thrown six and two-thirds innings during his rehab assignment and has yet to surrender a run.

Green’s timeline to return to the mound from last year’s Tommy John surgery was after the All-Star break, and he is expected to provide a boost to Toronto’s bullpen as the team looks to lock down a playoff appearance.

Chad Green left tonight's rehab outing in AAA after being hit in the head on a throw to second base.

You can see Green speaking with trainers here, too, which is good, but of course anything involving the head will need to be checked out. He's close to his #BlueJays debut. pic.twitter.com/CAeujYIwMv

— Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) August 9, 2023

Green has a 3.17 ERA in seven major league seasons, which all came with the Yankees before signing with the Blue Jays as a free agent. It is unclear whether or not Tuesday’s incident will impact Green’s timeline to return to the major league level.