Speaking to a group of reporters on Friday for the first time since signing a five-year, $86 million contract to rejoin the Yankees, closer Aroldis Chapman used the occasion to fire a few more fastballs.
Chapman acknowledged that he didn’t agree with the way Cubs manager Joe Maddon deployed him during the postseason, echoing criticism that the skipper faced during the team’s march to the World Series championship.
“Personally, I don’t agree with the way he used me,” Chapman said through a translator, citing specifically Game 6 of the World Series, when he pitched despite the Cubs holding a sizeable lead. “But he is the manager.”
The native of Cuba also made it clear that the Marlins’ boom and bust history of build ups and rebuilds turned him off to the possibility of playing there, though he said Miami made a competitive bid that brought them “close” to signing him.
“They change their team a lot,” Chapman said. “I wanted to have a stable team of young players where I could feel at home.”
Ultimately, Chapman said he wanted to rejoin the Yankees, citing the club’s 27 championships, a roster of talented young players, and the support they offered him upon his arrival in a trade last December amidst the early fallout from a domestic violence incident that led to a suspension. That time period proved to be key in his decision.
“The main thing was the way they welcomed me,” Chapman said. “I was coming to this team with a problem. ... They made me feel at home. That kind of support, it’s something that you need in a moment like that.”
Chapman’s deal, the most lucrative contract ever given to a reliever in the history of major league baseball, includes an opt-out clause that he can exercise following the 2019 season. He also has full no-trade protection through 2019.
“I’m not thinking about leaving or not leaving,” Chapman said of the opt-out. “That’s three years from now. That’s a long time.”
Chapman, who turns 29 on Feb. 28, agreed to the terms of his deal on Dec. 7 during the winter meetings. But it did not become official until Thursday, leading up to Friday’s conference call with reporters.
For the Yankees, a reunion with the four-time all-star made sense.
They had gained plenty of familiarity with Chapman, who posted a 2.01 ERA with 20 saves in 31 appearances, proving he could handle the rigor of New York before he was traded away to the Cubs in exchange for righthander Adam Warren, and prospects in shortstop Gleyber Torres and outfielders Billy McKinney and Rashad Crawford. Torres won MVP honors at the Arizona Fall League and McKinney was once a first-round draft pick of the A’s.
Also, signing Chapman did not cost the Yankees draft-pick compensation, another reason that a reunion seemed to make sense from the start.
Chapman led baseball with an average fastball velocity of 100.9 miles per hour, according to Statcast. He was responsible for throwing the 30 fastest pitches in the big leagues in 2016, including a 105.1 mph fastball that equalled the major league record that he set in 2010.
Chapman finished 4-1 with 36 saves and a 1.55 ERA in 2016. In 28 regular-season games with the Cubs, he posted a 1.01 ERA. He made 13 relief appearances in the postseason with four saves and a 3.45 ERA. Though he endured some struggles, Chapman was the winning pitcher in a 10-inning Game 7 thriller against the Indians in the World Series.
Chapman endured a stunning drop in velocity during that appearance. One day after he was surprisingly used in Game 6, he looked fatigued. But the lefty insists he is healthy. He said that he never made an issue of Maddon’s decisions at the time. Barring injury, Chapman said he was ready to pitch when asked, despite fatigue.
“As baseball players, we’re warriors,” he said. “Your mentality is you have to go there and do your job and that’s the way I see it.”
His blockbuster signing provided an appropriate bookend for what has been an unusually eventful year. It has been 354 days since the Yankees traded four players to the Reds for Chapman on Dec. 28, 2015.
Since then, Chapman served a 30-game suspension under baseball’s domestic violence policy, returned to form as a dominant closer, joined the Cubs in a deal pulled off near the trade deadline, helped to end a championship curse dating back to 1908, and rejoined the Yankees by signing a historic deal.
To make room for Chapman on the 40-man roster, righthanded pitcher Nick Goody was designated for assignment.
..... - Newsday