Yankees activate Sanchez, send Green to minors

The New York Yankees have activated catcher Gary Sanchez from the 10-day injured list and demoted struggling reliever Chad Green to the minor leagues.

Sanchez had been sidelined since April 10 because of a calf injury. He hit six home runs in his first 11 games this season before suffering the injury.

Sanchez is the first of several prominent injured Yankees regulars to return from the IL.

The Yankees are still without Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Miguel Andujar, Didi Gregorius, Luis Severino, Dellin Betances, Aaron Hicks, Greg Bird and Troy Tulowitzki.

Green, one of New York's most reliable bullpen arms over the past two years, has gotten off to an awful start this season. The right-hander allowed four earned runs in one-third of an inning Tuesday, raising his ERA to 16.43 in 10 appearances.

The Yankees also promoted left-hander Stephen Tarpley from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and optioned catcher Kyle Higashioka to Scranton on Wednesday.