Blue Jays 40-man Roster Review: Chad Green showed enough after Tommy John for the Blue Jays to pick up his two-year option

Returning on September 1 against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field, there was obviously some rust, as he gave up four runs, only one earned in two thirds of an inning pitched. There was also a three-game stretch where Green gave up five earned runs in 2.1 innings pitched. However, he pitched seven more innings after that poor run and had a 1.29 ERA and a 1.26 FIP, along with a 38.5 K% and a 7.7 BB%.

Now back to his contract. There were multiple scenarios for what Green’s contract would look like going forward. To start off, the Jays had a team option for a three-year, $27 million contract, worth $9 million a season, which was declined. After that was declined, Green had a player option to add one season to his deal worth $6.25 million, which was once again declined.

That of course, left us with Green’s current contract, as the Jays picked up his two-year option worth $21 million, or $10.5 million a season. It’s pretty evident that the Blue Jays have a lot of faith in Green going forward, but was it a mistake?

It’s too soon to say, but Green’s average velocity on the fastball was 95.6 mph, up nearly a full mile per hour from 2022 (94.8 mph). From 2020 onward, he averaged around where he is now, so the velocity is evidently back. While the ERA was high for Green this season, he more often than not pitched well, and the high ERA has more to do with a small sample size. The good news is that his FIP is the second-lowest of his career, as he was striking out batters at a similar clip he was doing pre-Tommy John.

The Jays committed nearly $30 million to Green, so it’s safe to say that he’ll be an important fixture in their bullpen for the next two seasons, and potentially even longer.