The New York Yankees aren’t expected to pursue Aroldis Chapman from the Boston Red Sox, and Chapman doesn’t seem particularly bothered by that. In fact, he’s expecting an apology from Brian Cashman and the Yankees if he gets traded to New York.
After those comments and some pushback from the Yankees, it’s safe to say Chapman won’t be wearing pinstripes after the deadline. But he could still impact the Yankees in other ways, with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays emerging as potential landing spots, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
“Relief pitchers often are some of the most impactful deadline acquisitions, and Boston’s closer is as effective as ever. Chapman doesn’t throw as hard as he once did, but he has four distinct pitches now. And he’s still chucking his fastball in the high 90s, which is plenty of velocity when hitters need to gear up for his slider and splitter. Here’s the greatest truism of the deadline: Everyone needs a good reliever. Teams will climb over each other for Chapman.”
Landing Chapman would be significant for any contender. But stealing him away from a division rival while there’s existing tension between player and organization? That’s next-level maneuvering.
The Yankees could feel the impact regardless. Both the Dodgers and Blue Jays consistently pursue elite pitching, so there’s every reason to believe they’d be interested in this type of deal.
What makes this interesting is the ripple effect. If Chapman lands with either team, that’s one less elite reliever available to everyone else – including the Yankees if they decide to pivot their bullpen strategy.
