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