Why Aroldis Chapman Makes the Yankees World Series Contenders

The New York Yankees looked to be in a youth movement late last season. Alex Rodriguez retired, their pitching was under-performing and a competitive AL East brought forth an opportunity to look to the future.

That’s when young talent like Gary Sanchez and others rose up and changed their plans. The Yankees quickly went from a team in borderline “tank” mode, to one that had serious hope for a division title.

It didn’t end up happening by the time the 2016 MLB season drew to a close, but no one could blame the Yankees. Even by switching up their lineup to feature younger prospects, they still remained competitive and finished a solid 84-78.

It was still a down year, but the Yankees still managed to finish just nine games out of first in the AL East, and only five wins separated them from the Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays – two teams that got to the wild card game.

Suffice to say, New York exceeded late-season expectations and with a strong core, they could potentially over achieve again in 2023.

Big Signing

They made sure on Thursday that they’d at least have that chance.

Per reports, the Yankees bolstered their problematic pitching rotation by bringing back star closer, Aroldis Chapman:

BREAKING: Aroldis Chapman has agreed to a 5-year, $86 million deal with the Yankees. (via @FOXSports) pic.twitter.com/l6abcmdRu0

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 8, 2016

Chapman had been traded to the Yankees in 2015, and performed well in a closing role. Chapman paced the team with 20 saves in 2016, tossing 44 strikeouts and posting a strong 2.01 ERA with just one blown save.

New York let Chapman go in a trade with the eventual World Series champion Chicago Cubs – possibly with an eye the entire time on bringing him back in free agency.

Chapman went on to help the Cubs win their first title in over 100 years, as he managed to keep the team alive when all seemed to be lost in the ninth inning of game seven in the World Series. Chapman had proven useful to the Cubs long before that, of course, as he recorded saves in three out of four tries in the NLDS and played a crucial role in their comeback out of a 3-1 hole in the World Series.

Thursday’s signing ends up being a big one by all accounts, as Chapman and the Yankees agreed to a huge five-year, $86 million deal. It’s even bigger when you look at MLB history, as Chapman’s new deal with the Yanks makes him the highest-paid relief pitcher ever.

Worth the Price?

Chapman certainly has had his ups and downs in the majors, but New York knows what they’re getting here. Not only was Chapman a strong closer for them in 2016, but he had been a terrific closer prior to that and he went on to deliver some big moments during a successful title run.

New York was also in need of some studly relief pitching, as they had let both Chapman and Andrew Miller go via trades. As the MLB playoffs played out, it was made more obvious than ever that the existence of a high level closer is paramount for any team hoping to make a deep post-season run.

The Yankees are a rare breed when it comes to pitching in general, too. They don’t have one true ace in their pitching rotation and tend to lean hard on their bullpen to piece together games and put their closer in a good spot. Their starting pitching still admittedly needs work, but their intermediate pitching has been fantastic. The lone missing ingredient going into 2023? A stud closer.

It’s still debatable whether maxing out for Chapman is going to be worth it, of course. The Yanks are in a clear rebuilding phase, and even with a fiery display that almost culminated in an unlikely playoff appearance a year ago, they are still not guaranteed to be quite as competitive going into 2023.

Losing solid veteran talent certainly doesn’t help, as the team already traded star catcher Brian McCann and dropped pitcher Nathan Eovaldi, but Chapman shores up the back-end of a strong pitching unit and veteran outfielder Matt Holiday (signed on December 7th) could give them a boost on offense.

That being said, the Yanks were highly successful for years because they had an elite closer and a great offense. They still have a ways to go to get where they want to be, but Chapman combining with an already engaged youth movement just might have them headed for a quicker turnaround than some experts think.

World Series Bound?

Automatically banking on the Yankees becoming World Series contenders is a reach. They are old in the outfield and too young in a lot of spots, their stadium is a tough place to dominate in and their top level pitching isn’t scary.

There are still a lot of weaknesses to shore up, but these are still the Yankees. They’re well-managed, they have some amazing young talent, and now they know if they can stick in games and improve gradually, they have a stud reliever who can get them tough wins that they’d otherwise be relinquishing.

Betting sites like Bovada aren’t about to sleep on the Yanks, either. Even before the Aroldis Chapman signing, New York was gearing up to enter 2023 with the 8th best World Series odds (+1400).

That’s not a ticket to the biggest series of the year, of course. The defending champion Cubs (+375) lead the way, and a massive trade for ace Chris Sale puts the Boston Red Sox (+550) right up there with the Cubs.

Perhaps the Sale trade ended up being the straw that broke the camel’s back. The long-term deal doesn’t put an emphasis on immediate success, either. The Yankees can continue to develop their young talent and attempt to remain competitive in the AL East, while giving themselves one of the best relief talents in the game.

That doesn’t have to mean World Series or bust right away in 2023. However, the Yankees were already starting to look better with their young talent busting out late in 2016. If they can continue to develop and Chapman lives up to his massive deal, New York could again make a push as a surprise playoff team. And once in, as we’ve all seen in playoff baseball, anything can happen.