Yankees: 3 Relievers That Could Serve as Closer With Aroldis Chapman Out

Aroldis Chapman will miss the start of the Yankees season after coming down with COVID-19.

It seems Saturdays in July aren’t good for the New York Yankees. Last week on July 4, Masahiro Tanaka was hit in the head with a line drive off the bat of Giancarlo Stanton. This week on July 11, Aroldis Chapman tested positive for COVID-19 and manager Aaron Boone said the closer would be away from the team for the “foreseeable future.”

That means there will be some reshuffling in the bullpen, but that’s not something Boone isn’t used to. It’s happened the last couple years due to injuries and ineffective play, and we’re going to see the same again at the onset of 2020.

So who on the roster is capable of taking over the closing duties to start the season? There are a few obvious choices, but perhaps things can get interesting.

3. Adam Ottavino

Adam Ottavino was a lights-out setup man for the Rockies before coming to the Yankees.

Though Ottavino faltered down the stretch in 2019 and was largely unreliable in late-game or high-leverage situations, the man still has nasty stuff capable of closing the door on the heart of an opposing lineup.

He only has 19 saves to his name, but an ankle-breaking slider and a career 3.44 ERA (with 552 strikeouts in 479.1 innings) is enough to take over as the 9th-inning man.

The right-hander had the best year of his career in 2019 with the Yanks. He recorded a 1.90 ERA in 73 games and struck out 88 batters in 66.1 innings. Maybe it’d be a good idea to throw him in some high-stakes situations early in the year to prep him for the bright lights of the postseason.

Whatever Boone decides to do, Ottavino at the very least is a tremendous Plan B.

1. Zack Britton

Before becoming a Yankee, Zack Britton was the closer for the Orioles.

No reason to be surprised here. Britton, who was the closer for the Baltimore Orioles before the Yankees acquired him in a trade. The left-hander has 145 saves to his name and led the league with 47 during an All-Star campaign back in 2016. He’s finished 25 games with the Yanks and recorded six saves since the middle of 2018.

On top of that, the nine-year veteran has been able to handle the spotlight in the Bronx. In 40 high-leverage situations last year, Britton held opponents to a .174 batting average and .535 OPS. In eight games coming in for the ninth inning, he held batters to a .120 average with a .361 OPS. Need more convincing?

Britton is the undisputed choice to take over as closer, though Ottavino and Schmidt are intriguing options in case Boone wants to mix things up and prepare the bullpen to for what’s to come down the stretch and in the postseason. It’ll be all hands on deck at that point.

While Chapman’s loss is significant, the Yanks have the pieces in place to get by without issue. That’s why you stack the bullpen, folks.