The New York Yankees lost All-Star closer, Aroldis Chapman, to injury on Tuesday night. Who is going to step into the closer role?
Aroldis Chapman, closer for the New York Yankees, is headed to the ten-day disabled list with inflammation in his left knee. The hard-throwing lefty exited Tuesday’s game against the Marlins with discomfort in his injured knee. Tommy Kahnle came in to relive Chapman and finished out the Yankees’ win.
According to Bryan Hoch of MLB.com, Chapman is headed to see a doctor on Friday, hoping that he will be able to return when he is first eligible.
The Yankees’ closer has had a solid 2018. In 50 games, Chapman has a 2.11 ERA and 84 strikeouts in 47 innings pitched. The flamethrower has locked down 31 of his 33 possible save opportunities.
Yankees Manager, Aaron Boone, discussed the effect of Chapman’s injury following the announcement that his star closer would be headed to the disabled list. (New York Post).
“Any time you take a guy like Aroldis Chapman out of the bullpen it’s a blow,’’ Boone said. “We feel we can handle it. We certainly feel we have guys who can handle it.’’
Instead of saying that he FEELS like his bullpen can handle the loss, he should have said that he KNOWS that his bullpen will fair just fine without Chapman.
Yes, Aroldis Chapman is a big piece to lose, but the New York Yankees have the talent to move forward with little effect from his injury. Arms like Dellin Betances, Zach Britton, and David Robertson have all been effective closers in the past and Chad Green/Jonathan Holder have stuff capable of closing games.
In regards to who will replace Chapman, Boone commented that the Yankees will use, “A little bit of everyone, it will depend on who we are playing and matchups.’’
Even with these comments, it is reasonable to assume that we will likely see Robertson and Britton receive most of the closing duties. Robertson and Britton have 135 and 139 career saves, respectively.
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Britton is the Yankees’ most interesting piece as the baseball world is awaiting the lefties return to dominance. While he may never be the same guy that he was in 2015/16, Britton isn’t a reliever that will post a 4.15 ERA. Britton’s power sinker is a pitch that should bring any team value.
It is clear that Zach Britton needed some time to regain form following his surgery to repair his ruptured achilles. According to BrooksBaseball, Britton’s sinker seems to be normalizing as he gets more innings under his belt. In June, Britton’s sinker averaged 94.22 MPH, gaining to 95.48 MPH in July to slipping slightly to 95.37 MPH in August. In September of 2017, Britton averaged 96 MPH on his power sinker. These increases are a good sign, even if the results with the Yankees have not been there.
With the return of his strength, Britton’s command should be the next piece to make its comeback. In my eyes, Britton could turn into more than just Aroldis Chapman’s replacement. It is unreasonable for the Yankees to expect Britton to be elite right away, he is not even a year removed from major surgery. As he gets more innings under his belt, Zach Britton could develop into an X-factor for the Yankees’ bullpen down the stretch of the season.
In a corresponding move, the New York Yankees recalled right-handed pitcher Chance Adams from Tripe-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.