Yankees activate Sanchez, send down Green
ANAHEIM -- The Yankees have had plenty of practice adding names to the injured list this season, so manager Aaron Boone particularly relished getting one of those back on Wednesday, with catcher Gary Sanchez activated prior to Wednesday's game against the Angels.
New York also recalled left-hander Stephen Tarpley from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, optioning struggling right-handed reliever Chad Green and catcher Kyle Higashioka to Triple-A.
Sanchez, who was placed on the injured list on April 12 with a left calf strain, appeared in one game with Class A Charleston as part of his rehab assignment.
"I'm obviously really excited to get him back," Boone said. "It was good to write his name in the lineup today, no question. I'm looking forward to him getting back in the fray and helping us continue to win games."
For the moment, the Yankees' injured list is back to 12, though the club is waiting on MRI results concerning Clint Frazier's sprained left ankle.
Sanchez was off to a strong start before an MRI revealed the calf strain, hitting .268 with a 1.065 OPS and six home runs in his first 11 appearances this season. He has at least one hit in eight of his 10 starts, including a three-homer game against the Orioles on April 7.
"We felt like we were pretty conservative in how we treated this, making sure he was good to go," Boone said. "I feel really good about where he's at in that he's truly past the injury."
Green has posted a 16.43 ERA this season, having allowed 14 earned runs off 15 hits and four walks in 7 2/3 innings, including a grand slam to Justin Bour in Tuesday's 7-5 Yankees victory.
After that game, Boone said that Green would stay with the big league club, but the coaching staff decided otherwise late on Tuesday after speaking with general manager Brian Cashman and assistant general manager Michael Fishman.
"It essentially came down to what's best for Greenie, what's best for us," Boone said. "A little timeout now where he can go work on things without the pressure of working through things in a big league game, we think really will benefit him. We look forward to getting him back hopefully soon where he's the Chad Green we've known for really the last couple of years."
Green appeared in 103 games over the previous two seasons, putting up a 2.18 ERA across 144 2/3 innings.
"I'm just frustrated," Green said after Tuesday's game. "I feel good. Everybody goes through a point where they battle mechanics a little bit but we're at a point where we have to fight through that and still perform to get guys out. I'm not doing that."