New York Yankees Remove Tyler Clippard From Seventh Inning Role
Jul 7, 2017; Bronx, NY, USA; New York Yankees relief pitcher Tyler Clippard (29) on the mound during game against Milwaukee Brewers at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports

In what comes as a surprise to no one, the New York Yankees have removed Tyler Clippard from his seventh-inning relief role.

According to Bryan Hoch of MLB.com, New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi has removed right-handed reliever Tyler Clippard out of his seventh-inning role. More chances in high-leveraged situations will be handed to Chad Green and Adam Warren.



In 38 relief appearances in 2017, the 32-year-old has given up 20 earned runs over 34.1 innings of work (5.24 ERA) and has surrendered seven home runs. Ever since Clippard’s ERA dropped to a season-low 1.08 on May 16, he has struck out just 20 batters compared to 14 walks while posting a 9.17 ERA.

Clippard also owns the 12th-worst clutch rating (-0.89) among qualified Major League relievers making it common sense to remove him from the high-leveraged seventh-inning.

Warren, 29, owns a 1.96 ERA this year and leads Yankee relievers in fielding independent pitching (2.44). Green, 26, has impressed during his relief duties by holding batters to a .131/.198/.234 slash line out of the bullpen featuring 47 strikeouts over 35 innings. After throwing 30 pitches on Friday night, however, Green is unavailable against Boston on Saturday.



All this does is restructure the bridge ahead of Dellin Betances and Aroldis Chapman, who have both been struggling this season. They both, especially the latter, have to get better as the season progresses if the Yankees have any hopes of contention.