Inside The Pinstripes

Yankees Bring Back Shane Greene on Minor League Deal

Greene began his MLB career with the Yankees in 2014, playing for three other clubs over the last eight years.

Max Goodman

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The Yankees are getting the band back together.

On a day when former top prospect Manny Bañuelos was called up to the big-league club, with first baseman Greg Bird already back in the organization as of this spring, another familiar face has returned.

New York signed reliever Shane Greene to a minor league deal on Thursday, sending him to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Greene began his career with the Yankees over a decade ago, drafted by the organization in the 15th round in 2009. Five years later, after working his way up through the club's farm system, he made his MLB debut in pinstripes, posting a 3.78 ERA over 15 games (14 starts) during the 2014 season.

After his promising rookie year, Greene was shipped to Detroit in the three-team deal that sent shortstop Didi Gregorius from Arizona to the Yankees. 

Greene quickly transitioned from a starter to a reliever. In his fourth season with the Tigers, he recorded 32 saves. The next year, Greene was an American League All-Star before he was traded to the Braves at the deadline.

From there, Greene spent three seasons in Atlanta before ending up with the Dodgers. In 2022, the right-hander pitched seven times in Triple-A Oklahoma City with Los Angeles, making just one appearance in a Dodgers uniform.

Greene, 33, elected free agency on May 22. The Yankees swooped in and brought him back home four days later.

Since Green isn't on the 40-man roster and went straight to the RailRiders, he still has a few hurdles to jump before he can wear pinstripes again. That said, New York can still place Chad Green and Luis Gil (Tommy John surgery) on the 60-day injured list, a way to free up a few 40-man roster spots.

With Aroldis Chapman (Achilles), Jonathan Loáisiga (shoulder) and Green out, it doesn't seem as completely far-fetched that the Yankees could call on Greene at some point going forward. He's certainly one of the more experienced options in Triple-A and there's some familiarity there as well.

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Max Goodman
MAX GOODMAN

Max Goodman covers the New York Yankees for Sports Illustrated and FanNation. Goodman has been on the Yankees beat for three seasons. He is also the publisher of Sports Illustrated and FanNation's Jets site, Jets Country. Before starting Inside The Pinstripes, Goodman attended Northwestern University and the Medill School of Journalism. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism and Master’s Degree in Sports Media, graduating in 2019. At school, Goodman was an anchor and reporter with NNN SportsNight and played on the club baseball team. While at Northwestern, Goodman interned with MLB.com as an associate reporter covering the Miami Marlins. He also interned with ESPN, working as an associate reporter on Mike Greenberg's Get Up. Goodman is from New York City. He grew up in Hell's Kitchen. Follow Goodman on Twitter @MaxTGoodman. You can connect with him via email by reaching out at maxgoodmansports@gmail.com.

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