The Yankees received the confirmation they feared with reliever Chad Green, who will undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery on his right elbow.
“What Greenie means to this team, and what a great, reliable player he’s been for us, it’s tough news,” Aaron Boone said before the Yanks dropped a doubleheader to the White Sox. “With the surgery, there’s usually some certainty to it.
“It’s usually something that pitchers are able to return from. I know he will. He’s an outstanding athlete that takes great care of himself and has a really good work ethic. I know that, in time, he’ll be fine. I expect him to pitch several more years at the level we’ve come to expect.”
Green, who has thrown the most innings of any Yankee reliever since 2016, was removed from an appearance Thursday in Baltimore in the middle of an at-bat with forearm discomfort, with the Yankees saying they believed the injury was “significant.”
Aaron Hicks and Isiah Kiner-Falefa rapped consecutive singles with the Yanks trailing 1-0 in the seventh inning of Game 1, but a leaning Hicks was picked off by reliever Joe Kelly at second for the second out. Kiner-Falefa also had been picked off first base by Chicago starter Johnny Cueto in the second.
“Obviously [Hicks was] being aggressive there,” Boone said. “Almost had him timed up. And then once he didn’t, he still had a chance to get back, but just lost his footing.”
Joey Gallo and Kyle Higashioka were placed on the COVID-19 injured list before the doubleheader. Outfielder Estevan Florial was summoned from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre as the 27th man for the doubleheader. He started Game 2 in center field and went 0-for-3. Catcher Rob Brantly and pitcher David McKay also were called up from Triple-A. but McKay was optioned after the game. Catcher Ben Rortvedt (knee) was transferred to the 60-day injured list.