New York Yankees remove Aroldis Chapman from closer role

With the New York Yankees headed towards a playoff berth, manager Joe Girardi has made a change in the ninth by removing Aroldis Chapman from the closer role.

The New York Yankees sit at 66-56 with a 3.5 game lead over both the Minnesota Twins and Los Angeles Angels for the first Wild Card spot entering play on Sunday. Girardi announced his decision before Saturday night’s game, and though he didn’t name the new ninth inning option, it was Dellin Betances that sealed last night’s win against the Boston Red Sox with a perfect ninth that included two strikeouts.

Chapman was removed from the ninth inning role after allowing seven earned in his last four appearances which spanned 4 1/3 innings. In that same time he allowed five hits, two home runs, five walks and struck out five. Three of those four outings were against the Red Sox, who hold a four game lead over the Yanks in the AL East, but only one of the opportunities resulted in a blown save. Two resulted in team losses, and the other two Chapman actually earned the save.

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The hard-throwing lefty now has a 4.29 ERA on the year, up from the 2.87 mark he held before this rough patch.

While Betances got the save opportunity last night, the idea of him holding down the ninth on a regular basis has to make Yankee fans squirm just a bit. He struggled down the stretch last season, allowing ten earned in 8 1/3 September innings. On the bright side, only two of the outings he allowed runs to score in resulted in losses for the Bombers.

Instead, David Robertson seems to be the more logical choice. He has allowed all of two earned in his 14 2/3 innings pitched since re-joining the Yankees before the deadline, good for a 1.23 ERA. He has closed out between 34 and 39 games each of the past three seasons, and while he won’t reach those totals this season (currently has 14 saves), he is having his best season since 2013.

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To be able to have this many options late in games is why the Yankees acquired so many talented relief arms at the deadline. Now they have their pick in the ninth and can have Chapman come in in a big spot earlier in the game if needed. That’s a pretty nice option to have.

While Chapman’s effectiveness isn’t going to be fixed overnight, making his load lighter could help to clear his head and get him ready for a potential postseason run. If they have the arms to make this happen, may as well shake things up, right?