Cubs sign former Yankees reliever Shane Greene |
Talk about a nice pre-trade deadline acquisition that could work out for the Cubs.
Chicago made an excellent acquisition as they have inked veteran right-hander Shane Greene to a minor league deal. I may be getting ahead of myself in terms of him making a difference, but this is a very intriguing signing that is a low-risk, high-reward pickup which the Cubs have done very well with in recent seasons. Greene is an MLB veteran with loads of experience, but he is 34 years old, so it is unclear what he can bring to the table at this point. According to sources, the plan is for Greene to head to Mesa to participate in the complex league before making the jump to Iowa to potentially put himself in a position to reach the majors. For those unfamiliar with Greene, he was an excellent reliever for a long time, especially with the Yankees, Tigers, and Braves. His best days are well behind him, as he never topped an ERA north of 2.66 from 2017-2020. However, there was a brief slip-up in 2018 when he struggled before seeing a major decline in production in 2021. A significant loss in velocity that season was one of the reasons why, but there is still reason to be optimistic about him helping out in the bullpen at some point this season. Last year, Greene saw opportunities with both the Dodgers and Yankees – big leagues and Triple-A – but did not get results in any of those stops. Greene has not appeared in an affiliated game this year. This is your classic definition of a reclamation project play, but that is something the Cubs have specialized in the past few seasons. You saw it with David Robertson, Adrian Sampson, Mychal Givens, etc.. and they are hoping Greene is another one of those veteran names that can fall in line. Across his nine seasons, Greene has been primarily a relief pitcher but does have 33 starts under his belt. He has posted a 24-29 record with a 4.53 ERA, but that is inflated mainly due to a rocky last two seasons and a terrible first few. Greene also has high-leverage experience in the back end of the pen as he has better than 90 career holds and 67 saves, with a career-high 32 saves coming in 2017. Greene may not be that guy anymore, but what can hurt bringing him in to give him an opportunity? When at his best, Greene had decent velocity as he typically sat in the 93-95 MPH range while bringing with him a great breaking ball. His velocity has slipped in recent seasons, but his curveball is still his best pitch, which is why the Cubs are bringing him in. They want to get him in the pitching lab to see if they can maximize that pitch and turn him into something close to his prime. Most fans may be hesitant about this move, but having a veteran like this in the organization can help the younger guys develop in the minors. His best days may be behind him, but if there is still something left in the tank and the Cubs can uncover that, he has the potential to reach the majors this year to give the Cubs pen an excellent lift. That is the equivalent of making a trade deadline move without having to give up assets in the process. If Greene can prove he has something left and can show he can become a useful bullpen arm, this would be considered a significant win for the Cubs, given his track record in the bullpen. However, should he falter and the rapid decline he has been on the past two seasons continues, the Cubs are not going to be tied to him long-term. In other words, they have nothing to lose at this point, as you can never have enough bullpen depth in an organization.
