The Yankees announced this evening that closer Aroldis Chapman has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to left Achilles tendinitis. Catcher Kyle Higashioka is back from the COVID-19 injured list to fill the active roster spot.
Chapman has been dealing with Achilles issues of late, although manager Aaron Boone told reporters yesterday that an MRI had come back clean. The skipper suggested an IL stint remained in play, though, and that’ll ultimately come to fruition. Whether because of the nagging foot discomfort or merely a coincidental cold streak, Chapman seems due for a reset. He’s allowed runs in each of his past five outings, taking the loss in two of those appearances.
That came on the heels of a stretch of 12 straight scoreless games to open the year. Through May 9, the southpaw had tossed 10 1/3 run-free frames while holding opponents to a .111/.256/.139 slash line. In the two weeks since then, he’s allowed six runs in 3 2/3 innings and been hit at a .474/.522/.947 clip. Chapman’s average fastball velocity has lost around a mile and a half per hour relative to last season, leaving the 34-year-old to try to rediscover his prior form once he returns to health.
In spite of Chapman’s recent struggles, the Yankees have had a customarily strong bullpen. New York relievers rank fourth league-wide in ERA (3.10) and seventh in strikeout/walk rate differential (16.6 percentage points). The Yankees did lose Chad Green to Tommy John surgery, but Michael King and Clay Holmes have shown signs of blossoming into elite high-leverage arms this season. They join Jonathan Loáisiga and Wandy Peralta among Boone’s most important bullpen arms while Chapman is out.
Higashioka was one of three players whom the Yankees have placed on the virus list in recent days. Outfielder Joey Gallo and third baseman Josh Donaldson joined him in experiencing flu-like symptoms, but Higashioka has apparently tested negative and is feeling better this evening than he had over the weekend.
Wouldn’t surprise me if they used a minor injury to not just rest him but then send him on a rehab assignment where he can work on his release point, which has been off. Easier to do that in the minors.
Hopefully they eventually move him to the 60 day IL. The guy is a head case. Ahahahaha!
He’s clearly gotten into your head.
Or he discharged a fire arm eight times next to his head?
He’s in my head. Two season ending walkoffs can do that to you. I hope he’s played his last game and a Yankee. I wonder if there’s something wrong with King. He’s too good to pitch this poorly. When it comes to injuries, player lies to team, then team lies to the media and fans. King will be next to go on the IL.
Clay Holmes’ time to shine.
Holmes is very good, but by making him the closer they lose him in other high-leverage situations. They’re a better team without him closing, but for the time being, they have no choice.
This is how bullpens can get out of sync. We will see if they can adjust to different roles, and maintain effectiveness.
I agree YBC. Who takes Holmes job as the primary setup man? King is so valuable in the multi inning role, but I suppose he’s the most obvious. Then I guess Schmidt could take over the multi inning role but, we need bullpen help via the trade route.
Ideally? They fix Johnny Lasagna. He’s an ideal setup man for Holmes because he’s throws a true 2-seam FB with entirely different action than Holmes. But, that’s a big IF.
Green & Chappy hurt bad. One? Okay, we can navigate that. But, both will be impactful because of their important roles. Thankfully, BP just may be the strongest area of the Yankees roster.
I think Chapman knows deep down that he’s lost his fastball and that he is no longer an intimidating figure on the mound. He has been very reluctant to attack the zone. In his prime he would just throw the heat, but now he’s too afraid of getting beat with his best pitch. How many times did he get beat on his slider ?? Splitter??? No confidence.
Good riddance. He has been bad lately.now Boone doesn’t feel obligated to use him.hopefully he can figure something out and at least be useful again.
This is where you need to reach out and try and trade for Hader
Ok yankes2323 being a yankee fan I’m sure you will offer them 2 middle level prospects and a bucket of balls and expect them to fall over with gratitude
Trade for a pitcher, not a thrower
Haders a pitcher
For a first place team that is pretty good.
Why would the first place Brewers want to trade their closer?
For serious prospects!! But realistically, it would take an unreal, and likely painful, amount of talent to get him away from the Crew. I’d be interested in what it might take, merely out of curiosity.
I bet they *could* offer prospects amenable to Brew Crew, but I am certain none of those would be acceptable to Cashman.
Also, I’m not entirely certain how the Brewers FO operates, but would they give up Hader, even for the right prospects, during a contention year?
Either way, as awesome as it would be to have a closer like Hader, the cost would be prohibitive, imo.
A new closer and a primary catcher are needed.
Have Yankee fans ever felt comfortable watching this guy in a tight ninth ?
Edp007,
Not this Yankee fan. I strongly suspect that his time in pinstripes is coming to an end. He’s a free agent at the end of the year and it’s difficult to imagine a scenario where he comes back. Holmes has first crack at being the closer. If that doesn’t work out Michael King and perhaps Jonathan Loaisiga (if they can get him straightened out) will get a chance. Always possible of course that their next closer is not yet on the roster.
Yes. When he’s on, he’s lights out. Chapman had a similar stretch of struggles last season at this time. I feel like fans unfairly compare him to Mo whom we were very spoiled with. With that said, I wouldn’t resign him even when he straightens himself out. He’s wearing down.
Its been a long time since he’s been “lights out”…..his decreasing fastball speed, along with his inability to consistently locate that pitch, coupled with a very mediocre slider are all the evidence the Yankees need to 1., decide not to re-sign him beyond this year, and 2. find a way to pitch him as effectively as possible in mid to higher leverage situations (while crossing your fingers) where teams consistent hard contact against him, along with a propensity for multiple walks might turn a win into a loss.
YBC,
I think you are right about an incredibly unfair comparison with MO. It’s like when Jason Domiquez is compared to Mantle, Trout, or Bo Jackson.
Chapman has had a solid career in pinstripes, but it’s over.
Yeah, you can usually tell a few FBs into his relief appearance – backstop? Rough day it’s going to be; 98-100 and around the zone? Yeah, he’s dialed in.
Also, he loves throwing his FB. So if he’s heavy on offspeed, typically slider, then we know he doesn’t have his FB, most likely.
Comfortable? From 2016 through 2019, yes. As comfortable as you can feel with any pitcher not named Mariano Rivera.
HOLMES SZN
How About If,Right Now,They Trade Luis Medina,Yoendrys Gomez,Alexander Vargas,Oswald Peraza,Everson Pereira & Miguel Andujar To The Detroit Tigers for Andrew Chafin & Alex Lange?
Alright, so how about the Donaldson situation?
– I joke, I joke.
So, Hicks says he talked to Bernie and Bernie told him to stay center of the field (gap-to-gap) & let the ball travel in.
Wait so, he told you *not to go to your “pull?” No duh! Ramp down your leg kick, stop pulling everything because you’re rolling over on the ball, & make contact up the middle
Yet, what does Hicks do? Try to pull the ball with a huge leg kick still and wonder why he sucks…… ugh.
Hicks with a chance to walk-off…. and goes down with a 3-pitch K. Dude looked so overmatched.
He’s so bad. Just so bad. He’s similar to Gallo in that he’s completely unsuccessful but refuses to change anything in his approach…at all.
He just keeps repeating the same swing, same mechanics, and expecting a different result. Even the announcers talk about his mechanics being way off – O’Neill & Cam do a good job of breaking down his back-forward movement & excessive head movement, speeding up the pitch. He also doesn’t stay back, he shifts too much weight to his front side.
This is stuff any hitting coach should easily identify (I’m sure they are, for clarity). This tells me Hicks isn’t adjusting anything. He’s still going out, thinking he knows how he should hit, and instead of breaking down to a simpler swing, keeps embarrassing himself (and Yankees fans).
Trevinooooooo
Guys, I feel you, but let’s take a step back. Hicks was the first Yankee to get on base tonight with an infield single in the first. He was erased when Judge hit into a DP. In the sixth inning, he led off with a solid single, and again he was erased by a Judge GDP.
So, yeah, his rally-killing strikeouts were all-too-familiar, but he did get two hits tonight, which is more than four of his teammates, including Judge, can say. Sadly, the two rally-killers were more memorable. And when he struck out on three pitches in the ninth, so did Andujar and Kiner-Falefa. Akin was pretty tough tonight. There’s a reason he has a 1.23 ERA.
Yeah, no doubt. You’re 100% correct, Fink. But, that hit for Hicks, was terrible. Should’ve been an out. It was his typical swing – too far forward, huge leg kick, rolled his wrists over, ground ball. He just hit it soooo weakly they couldn’t make a play on it.
But, Trevino?! Man, love that kid. His defense is spectacular and he stole the game tonight.
Plus, I’m pleasantly surprised with Gleyber. He’s dialed back a bit, worked the center of the field, trying to go the other way, and launched two nice HRs tonight. Hopefully he can keep it up, because I think Gleyber can really impact the roster in a big way.
Yes, they need Gleyber to compensate for the loss of LeMahieu and possibly Stanton. Fortunately he’s got the slugging Jose Trevino to help him pick up the slack.
About Jose — if you haven’t read this yet, I think you’ll like it:
mlb.com/news/jose-trevino-hits-walk-off-single-in-…
Fink, what an awesome story! Makes me root for this guy even more, which I didn’t realize was possible.
His back story, with his dad a lifelong Yankee fan, the mug, the situational hitting as a kid… It’s a dream come true for him. Just a great story, bro. Thanks for sharing that.
What a shame about TX too. Just despicable actions by a despicable human. My heart breaks for those people, man. Innocent kids….why?
Chapman, Green and now Stanton… I really hope this isn’t a long term injury for Stanton.
Don’t underestimate the impact of losing Gil either. He was going to be a valuable contributor as the season went on.
I’m inclined not to overestimate it either. He has a tremendous arm, but he hasn’t learned to command his pitches consistently, and he was pitching poorly in Scranton with the usual issues. There are several arms in the minors who were outperforming him.
Gotcha. Who’s the next man up for spot starts and the like?
I don’t know for sure but they can’t avoid Manny Banuelos for too much longer because he’s been virtually unhittable in AAA. JP Sears has been equally fantastic and he’s pitching tomorrow – got called up for the game against the O’s.
My thoughts, knowing the Yankees MO, is that they may continue to rotate arms, in order to keep them fresh. Just based on past experience.
Give Boone his due credit, Yankee fans. He used the bullpen well tonight, putting Holmes in to face the heart of the lineup in the 8th inning instead of defaulting to a hackneyed role-based strategy that says to save the closer until the last inning. Losing this game would’ve been very deflating. And credit to Cashman, too, for acquiring Trevino. Great acquisition.
Yes, hear, hear! Boone did a good job tonight, Trevino was a fantastic, way underrated acquisition, especially given the current offensive performance averages of catchers. In fact, Boone has done a decent job all season with mixing in some decisions that would be analytical anomalies. He’s getting better it seems.
Let’s talk about the real story though:
Can we please do something about Miggy’s high-water pants? They’re killing me. It looks like they gave him Velasquez’ old pants to wear because they couldn’t afford to buy any.
Look at what ill-fitting pants did for Robbie Ray.
Hahaha! You’ve got a point.
Cashman’s chickens are coming home to roost. Donaldson has become a 36yo, $50mil disaster. Rather have Story than Kiner. The BoSox have won 6 straight and Story is coming around. Rizzo is hitting for power but is batting around .230. This team is more dependent on HRs than ever before. Hitting and slugging aren’t the same. I’ll take a hitter who slugs over a slugger who can’t hit (even over a good pitcher). Cole is a disaster at $36min AAV. Jose Trevino would pull his team’s fat from the fryer most of the time. It wouldn’t shock me if this team misses the playoffs and Judge walks in 2023. If these events come to pass, I wonder how Hal and Cash will spin this.
“ I’ll take a hitter who slugs over a slugger who can’t hit ”
Yes, I concur, & they clearly tried to edge more in this direction – with the obvious primary focus on defense, which has been demonstrably better this year.
– Trevino is doing incredibly well. Elite defensive catching and above average offensively at his position too. He just won the O’s game for us.
– The SS debate. Ugh, this one gets me. I love IKF…but as a UTL guy. I wanted Story, bad. Then I saw his terrible start & opined, “wow, looks like Cash made a good call. Thankfully we didn’t pick him up.” Spoke too soon, of course, & now he’s starting to rake. We need a true SS, a complete SS, a SS that is good on both sides. The lame excuse of “waiting” is just….stupid. Waiting? On what? There’s no guarantee for prospects, no slotted time frame, no purposeful contribution they’re making to the club *now!
Anyway, I hear you, but I’m satisfied so far. I thought we were a shoe-in for fourth, maybe fifth place. Looks like this team may battle for first, so I’ll reserve judgment until the results are in. It could be A LOT worse, my friend. They were on a record-setting pace this year.
As I said in the beginning of the post-lockout period, these moves are going to prove Cashman a complete moron, or a genius – we just have to wait and see.
Donaldson might be a PR disaster but he’s no disaster on the field. He owns a 130 wRC+ and a 125 OPS+ with a .349 OBP, 5 Defensive Runs Saved (third-best among 3B), 1 Out Above Average and the second-highest success rate at third. He’s batting .300 with a .991 OPS Late and Close, and with RISP and 2 outs his OPS is 1.046 and his BA is .267, both second on the team behind LeMahieu.
The Yankees are tied for 12th in BA. Last year, they were 23rd. They’re third in OPS. Last year, they were 13th. They’re sixth in runs. Last year, they were 19th. They’re tied with the Astros for third in total bases. Last year, they were 19th.
The Yankee staff is first in wins, third in ERA and strikeouts, fourth in WHIP, and only three teams have given up fewer home runs. The Yankee rotation is tied with the Astros for second in ERA and tied with the Dodgers for first in WHIP.
If Cashman’s chickens have come home to roost, so far they’re roosting comfortably.
Every time an elite reliever starts to fall off I pull Mariano’s stats up and am amazed how good he was and for how long. Chapmans had a hell of a run but you can definitely see the regression over the last few years. He’s remained effective by mixing in some breaking/off speed pitches to his repertoire but prime Chapman is in the past.
Imagine losing your fastball and still being able to throw 98? He can figure out ways to be dominant but it’s not going to be by throwing it as hard as he can anymore.
I Am Telling You That,Right Now,It’s Time To Trade Luis Medina,Yoendrys Gomez,Alexander Vargas,Oswald Peraza,Everson Pereira & Miguel Andujar To The Detroit Tigers for Andrew Chafin & Alex Lange?
How Much Will It Help Them Out If,Right Now,They Trade Luis Medina,Yoendrys Gomez,Alexander Vargas,Oswald Peraza,Everson Pereira & Miguel Andujar To The Detroit Tigers for Andrew Chafin & Alex Lange?