Inside The Pinstripes

Reunions Haven’t Panned Out For Yankees

New York brought in a few blasts from the past this year. None of those moves came with high expectations, but they haven’t helped the Yankees much.

Gary Phillips

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When Shane Greene took the mound for the Yankees on July 23, much was made of the time between his appearances for New York.

The Yankees picked Greene in the 15th round of the 2009 draft, and he made his major league debut with the pinstripers in 2014. Greene started 14 of 15 appearances that season, recording a 3.78 ERA as a rookie. But he was traded to the Tigers that offseason in a three-way deal that brought Didi Gregorius to New York from Arizona.

It was not until Greene signed a minor league deal with the Yankees this past May that he rejoined the organization. Now a reliever, the righty’s July 23 outing came 2,859 days after his last major league appearance with the club.

However, Greene’s return to the Yankees was hardly triumphant, and ultimately proved succinct. The 33-year-old allowed two earned runs over one inning in a loss to the Orioles and was designated for assignment the following day.

Greene’s brief return continued a trend of Yankees reunions that haven’t provided much more than a short-lived feel-good story this season. While Greene, Manny Bañuelos and Greg Bird never came back with needle-moving expectations, all three made minimal contributions, if any at all, after rejoining New York this year.

Bañuelos grabbed the most attention, making his Yankees debut 14 years after signing with the club out of the Mexican League in 2008. Once a highly touted prospect, Bañuelos was traded to Atlanta in 2015 after succumbing to injuries, including Tommy John surgery. He ended up spending time with the Braves, Angels, Dodgers, White Sox and Mariners before finally pitching for the Yankees this season.

Bañuelos, who signed with New York in March, made his first Yankees appearance on June 3, throwing two scoreless relief innings. He did the same thing on June 8 and allowed two earned runs over his next 4.1 innings. Despite the small batch of success, the Yankees designated Bañuelos for assignment on June 28 and traded him to the Pirates for cash on July 3.

Ironically, the 31-year-old’s Pittsburgh debut came against New York; he allowed five earned runs while recording just one out on July 6.

While Greene and Bañuelos were able to momentarily don a Yankees uniform, Bird was not as fortunate after signing with New York in early April. The first baseman, another former top prospect, struggled mightily at Triple-A, slashing .218/.325/.354 with six home runs and 22 RBI. The 29-year-old was released after 59 games.

Bird first burst onto the scene in 2015. Originally looked at as a key member of the Baby Bomber core, injuries held Bird to just 186 games over that span. New York designated him for assignment on Nov. 20, 2019, and he became a free agent seven days later.

While blasts from the past have not dramatically helped New York’s big league club this season, there is potential for other reunions. Tyler Wade is at Triple-A after the Yankees DFA’d him and traded him to the Angels last November, only to reacquire him earlier this month. He could provide experienced depth and speed if the team suffers an injury at the MLB level.

The impending trade deadline could also push New York to look at a few ex-Bronx Bombers. Brandon Drury, David Robertson and Ian Kennedy are among the former Yankees who could help the team down the stretch.

Should such a deal happen, a reunion may actually make a substantial impact on the Yankees this year. So far, however, getting back together hasn’t been fruitful. 

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Gary Phillips
GARY PHILLIPS

A graduate of Seton Hall, Gary Phillips has written and/or edited for The Athletic, The New York Times, Sporting News, USA Today Sports’ Jets Wire, Bleacher Report and Yankees Magazine, among others. He can be reached at garyhphillips@outlook.com.

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