The New York Yankees have signed veteran reliever Shane Greene to a minor-league deal and have assigned him to their Triple-A affiliate at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, according to the Railriders' official Twitter account.
Greene, 33 years old, made one appearance in the majors earlier this season as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers. That outing saw him throw two scoreless innings against the Philadelphia Phillies on May 15. He had otherwise spent the year with the Dodgers' Triple-A affiliate at Oklahoma City, with whom he posted a 5.87 ERA in 7 ⅔ innings. He was granted free agency earlier this week after being designated for assignment.
Greene made the All-Star Game in 2019 as a member of the Detroit Tigers. He was traded to the Atlanta Braves thereafter, and he's since had an uneven run.
Greene accumulated a 2.60 ERA in 27 ⅔ innings during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. He reached free agency afterward, but did not sign with a team until rejoining the Braves in May 2021. The layoff didn't seem to help him, as he subsequently amassed a 7.23 ERA (62 ERA+) and a 1.71 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 23 ⅔ innings split between the Braves (who released him in August 2021) and the Dodgers.
The Yankees could, at least, use the organizational depth. New York has lost several key relievers to the injured list recently, including closer Aroldis Chapman, Chad Green (out for the season) and Jonathan Loáisiga. The Yankees have attempted to patch over those losses by promoting the likes of David McKay and Manny Bañuelos from the minors.
The Yankees entered Thursday night in first place in the American League East with a 31-13 record. Their opponents for the next four days, the Tampa Bay Rays, came into play some 4 ½ games back.
