Yankees Need Former Closer Aroldis Chapman Back for 2017

Former closer Aroldis Chapman may be the best upgrade available for the thin New York Yankees pitching staff this winter.

Given the performance of the New York Yankees vaunted youth movement in August, it’s not hard to imagine that the team is a piece or two away from being serious contenders in 2017 and beyond.

Gary Sanchez, Didi Gregorius, Aaron Judge, Tyler Austin, Aaron Hicks, Starlin Castro, and Greg Bird give the Yankees a solid nucleus to build their lineup of the future around, with remaining veterans Jacoby Ellsbury, Brett Gardner, Chase Headley, and Brian McCann acting as nice complementary pieces.

Aside from Masahiro Tanaka and Dellin Betances, however, the Yankees pitching staff for next year and beyond is nothing but question marks. Chad Green and Luis Cessa look promising, but have a lot to prove. CC Sabathia and Michael Pineda are unreliable. 

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If you take away the members of No-Runs DMC, the Yankees bullpen has been pretty awful. They’ve relied way too heavily on waiver claims and minor league journeymen to try and cobble things together this year. Tyler Clippard and Adam Warren are fine, but shouldn’t be relied upon in crucial situations.

What the Yankees really need is a solid number two or three starter to slot in behind Masahiro Tanaka, but the free agent market is extremely short on talent this winter. Rich Hill, Jeremy Hellickson, and Doug Fister could all help, but are likely to be incredibly overpaid because of the lack of options. Most contenders are just as desperate for starting pitching as New York.

That being the case, general manager Brian Cashman could return to his old strategy of building a super bullpen to cover the weaknesses of the Yankees mediocre rotation. It actually worked pretty well this year, just no one expected all of the team’s veteran sluggers to stop hitting at once.

If the offense had been better, the three-headed monster in the bullpen could have worked. The market for relief pitchers is much more fruitful than that for starters this winter. Aroldis Chapman, Kenly Jansen, and Mark Melancon stand out as the big names. 

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Their former closer may be the most expensive of that trio, but he’s also shown he can be successful in the AL East and handle New York, even in the midst of a controversy. Personally, I don’t relish the idea of rooting for Chapman because of his domestic violence issues, but the fit with the Yankees is undeniable.

Chapman is one of a handful of relievers in baseball that can have a similar impact to adding a solid starter to your rotation. He’s easily surpassed the two WAR each of the last three seasons. He’s totaled 12.4 since 2012 according to FanGraphs, which is easily the best in baseball. Jansen is second at 10.7 WAR.

The suspension to start the year has kept him from his usual place at the top of every leaderboard, but he’s still fourth in WAR, second in FIP, and sixth in K/9 among all qualified MLB relievers this year.

It doesn’t sound like there are likely to be any hurt feelings between player and team either. Before the trade, Chapman expressed his willingness to return to New York, even if he was dealt at the deadline: (via NJ Advance Media)

"I feel very happy and comfortable here in the city. At the same time, this is a business and if I happened to be traded away, I’m pretty sure they’re going to be doing it for the good of the team. That being said, if the opportunity comes up where I can come back to the team, I would be more than happy."

Chapman is expected to smash Jonathan Papelbon‘s MLB contract for a reliever. Is five years and $75 million out of the question? Not in a market where Mike Leake is taking home more than that.

According to Baseball-Reference, the Yankees only have $127.7 million committed to payroll for next season and could even dump more salary by moving Gardner or McCann this winter. They would have plenty to spend on Chapman if they feel like he’ll be enough to push them over the top.

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It seems almost certain that the Yankees will land either Chapman, Melancon, or Jensen this winter. Their former closer seems like the favorite because of the general good vibes between the two sides and their familiarity with each other.