The New York Yankees are an excellent baseball team. However, they are facing questions in reference to their bullpen. Star reliever Michael King recently suffered a fractured right elbow injury. As a result, King is done for the season. To make matters worse, Aroldis Chapman has struggled since returning from an injury of his own. On the season, the flame-throwing left-hander has an ERA north of 5.70. This leaves Yankees manager Aaron Boone in a difficult situation.
Following another disappointing outing from Chapman recently, Boone said he feels Chapman is “close, though it was obviously a tough night for him,” per the Athletic. The Athletic also shared what Aaron Boone said about the plan moving forward for Aroldis Chapman.
“We’ve just got to keep building some successes and get the confidence back to where he’s that guy out there. That’s what we’re working to do.”
Aroldis Chapman has earned the right to try and break out of his slump. He is arguably the best closer of the last decade and is the owner of 315 career saves. But the Yankees desperately need the veteran to figure things out as soon as possible. The Michael King injury will be difficult to get past, but Chapman could soften the blow if he turns his season around.
New York may look to add relief pitching ahead of the 2022 MLB trade deadline as well. There is never any shortage of relievers on the open market. The Pirates' David Bednar and Cubs' David Robertson are intriguing relief options for the Yankees.
But New York's aggressiveness on the reliever trade market will be defined by the performance of Aroldis Chapman over the next week.
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