Yankees: Aroldis Chapman not a lock to return this season

The Yankees usually dominant bullpen has been struggling more than usual ever since Aroldis Chapman went on the DL with left knee tendinitis back on August 22nd. The team says they’re hoping to get their All-Star closer back before the regular season ends but at this point there are no guarantees that he will.

Chapman was placed on the DL after he could longer pitch through the pain he was experiencing in that knee. He had done so for much of the season but that obviously made things worse and now the Yankees don’t know when we might see him back in uniform.

Since he went down he’s received two PRP injections to help with the healing, but according to  GM Brian Cashman that doesn’t mean he’ll be back by the end of the month. Per the New York Post:

"“I can’t guarantee when we’re going to see [Chapman], I’m hopeful we’ll see him. The hope is [the shots] solve the issue and we get him back to where he was.”"

Given how tough Chapman has been all season and throughout his career, you would expect that he comes back at some point, but you can’t blame Cashman for not putting himself or Chapman in a box by announcing an exact timetable. He already did that with Aaron Judge last month and we all know how that’s played out so far.

More from Cashman:

"“Until he’s out there doing what we’ve seen him do in the past to the level he’s capable of doing it, it’s probably best for me to be cautious on that. The timeline is tougher because the season now only has a month left to go.”"

Since there is less than a month to go in the regular season if Chapman were to return it would probably be towards the end of the month which is definitely concerning. He needs to get some innings under his belt before October and get back into a rhythm because we’ve seen how he struggles when he pitches after a long layoff. In the playoffs, the Yankees can’t afford to have him out there working off the rust closing out a game.

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The good news is that the Yankees have multiple options to close until Chapman returns and more than enough depth in their bullpen to win without him. However, as we’ve seen over the past week, not everybody at the back end of the pen is firing on all cylinder right now.

Zach Britton has been very inconsistent since joining the team before the trade deadline and Dellin Betances had his worst outing of the season trying to close out the Tigers on Thursday. Betances blew the save giving up two home runs in a game the Yanks couldn’t afford to lose which raised questions about whether or not he as the right mentality to be a closer.

At the time Chapman went on the DL myself and many other said Betances should stay where he’s comfortable setting up in the eighth because we’ve seen him struggle closing out games in years past. He’s the best in baseball in that role so there’s no need to mess with him by having him do something he has much less experience doing.

I think part of the reason Dellin was closing this past week was due to Britton’s struggles, which is understandable. Britton’s struggled to adjust to a new role but he has been one of the best closers in baseball for the past five years and I think a move back to his customary role could help him gain more confidence and make him more comfortable.

Although If he’s not the guy Aaron Boone wants to pitch the ninth it still shouldn’t be Betances and the job should go to David Robertson. Like Britton, D-Rob has plenty of experience closing out games and lately, he’s been pitching the best among the three (0.00 ERA in August).

Like I said the Yankees have more than enough arms in that pen to still win a World Series without Chapman, but this team is at their best when he is closing out games in the ninth. When he’s right he’s the best closer in baseball and is better than any backup option the Yankees are working with right now. Let’s hope he’s back sooner rather than later.