The Yankees announced they’ve reinstated reliever Aroldis Chapman from the 15-day injured list. To clear a spot on the active roster, New York designated righty Ryan Weber for assignment. New York’s 40-man roster tally drops to 38.
Chapman missed around three weeks recovering from an infection arising from a tattoo. The bizarre issue marked the latest frustration in what has been a disappointing overall season for the flamethrowing southpaw. Chapman has worked to a career-worst 4.70 ERA across 30 2/3 innings.
His formerly elite strikeout rate has fallen to a slightly above-average 25.7%, while he’s walking batters at an unacceptable 16.2% clip. New York already bumped Chapman from the ninth inning in favor of Clay Holmes, and it remains to be seen where he stands in the left-handed pecking order for manager Aaron Boone as the playoffs approach. Wandy Peralta and Lucas Luetge have each been solid this year, with Peralta thriving against same-handed opponents.
As for Weber, he finds himself in a familiar position. The soft-tossing righty has been on and off the Yankees roster a few times this season, with New York frequently calling upon him as a depth arm. He’s never carved out a permanent spot on the big league club, though, and he’s now been designated for assignment for a fourth time this year. Because he’s out of minor league options, the Yankees continuously have to run him through waivers to take him off the big league roster.
The 32-year-old has remained with New York after each previous DFA, either via accepting an outright assignment to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre or quickly returning on a new minor league deal after electing free agency. He’s pitched well through the constant shuffling, tossing 10 2/3 innings of one-run ball at the MLB level while posting a 3.86 ERA over 39 2/3 Triple-A frames. Weber’s 16.5% strikeout rate with Scranton has been typically modest, but he’s induced plenty of ground-balls and only walked 3% of opponents there.
Sucks for Weber considering he’s given up 1 run in 10.2 innings
Let the Red Sox take a shot at him
pwndroia – Bloom has taken a lot of heat the past few years, much of it warranted, but he deserves credit for not bringing back Weber.
I’m just throwing that out there. Honestly, I don’t even know the guy but anyone is better than what we have now.
Would be a solid troll since Cashman seems to crave having him as AAAA depth
I could see Chapman retiring after this season. He’s not the same pitcher anymore, and when he doesn’t have the velocity he used to have, his secondary pitches aren’t very good, so he’s nowhere near dominant. Can’t see any team giving him more than a 1 year deal at an insulting rate by his standards.
He never really was the most dominant closer everyone thought he would be. Even in the 2016 World Series, he gave up some key hits (homerun to tie game 7) that could have gone in Cleveland’s favor. Having the most dominant stuff doest mean you’re always the best. His fastball was fast but hittable. Doubt he retires though.
He’s definitely not a big game pitcher.
I’m not saying that… I just think people expected him to be like Mariano Rivera just because of a 103 mph pitch being dominating on speed alone
Yeah the expectations were higher than the results for sure but he also wilts when the lights are the brightest.
The biggest problem with Chapman is that he still believes he has 100 MPH stuff. But, to reach it, he has to overthrow and nobody has any clue where it’s going, including Chapman. His slider is great…for opposing hitters. He has a fantastic splitter/forkball, but rarely uses it for whatever reason.
He had to quit with the splitter when they cracked down on spider tack.
No one is Mo, but it’s almost like people forget Mo failed from time to time.
dugmet – You don’t have to worry about me forgetting 2001 or 2004.
Aroldis Chapman is a Hall Of Famer
Haha. Maybe a garbage time innings eater. That’s about it. But the fact that he’ll be back on the roster, is troubling means boone be tempted to use him in big spots, God for bid he hurt his fragile feelings By not doing so.
He may be a innings eater now, but check out Chappy’s career #’s again. He is definitely a Hall Of Famer, to say otherwise is disrespectful. Smh
Well stated Joe. He blew a number of postseason games for us, possibly series.
I don’t know about Hall of Fame, I wasn’t commenting on that. I’m just talking about now. Hopefully that’s all he will be used for is a garbage eating eater
Nah. I have a hard time in general with most relievers getting in. Mo is an exception of course. But even considering that there are a few in there, Aroldis doesn’t make the cut. Not even 20 bWAR, not that bWAR is the only thing to judge on, but that’s pretty low to be considered for the Hall.
I strongly disagree with you, obviously
And he’s still a Hall Of Famer.
What other reliever do you compare him to? He’s no Lee Smith. You’re really lowering standards here.
Hang on there one second…. Maddon rode Chapman hard and put him away wet. The Cubs do not win the World Series without his game six, for a lack of a better term, heroics either.
Just because Maddon mismanaged him in game seven does not take away from his importance and dominance during that run…. Luckily for the Cubs, Francona also mismanaged his pen, overworking the back end, giving the Cubs hitters plenty of looks on how they were pitching them.
People may not want to believe it but regardless of how dominate they are, relievers are relievers for a reason and MLB hitters are in the major leagues for a reason as well… if you only have two pitches and you give a major league hitter multiple looks at you, the hitters going to win. Chapman in game seven had one pitch, Maddon wore his arm out and his fastball was a complete non-factor.
pwndroia – I don’t think it’s fair to criticize Chapman for the 2016 WS, he was clearly overworked.
Over a 27-day period he pitched 13 times.
During Games 5 & 6 & 7 he threw a combined 97 pitches.
Do-able if you’re a finesse pitcher like Foulke, but not if you’re a power pitcher relying on triple digit fastballs.
I wasn’t fully criticizing Chapman, just pointing out he has made mistakes. You gotta win those big games too.
He’s still a Hall Of Famer, regardless of what you’re saying though.
pwndroia – I agree, no pitcher is perfect. But the Altuve homer was not a mistake, that was shady AF.
The Devers homer was probably Chapman challenging a kid that everybody was unfamiliar with.
I think it’s fair to say Chapman is the Ivan Drago of relief pitchers. Very intimidating and physically gifted, but not very bright.
You’re making a prediction now, All Rise? I think there’s a bit of hero worship going on here
He was extremely dominant during the 2016 season. That’s why the Cubs gave up the best prospect in baseball at the time plus more for half a season of him. That’s also the last half season he was so dominant. I was shocked to see Cashman give him that contract after Maddon rode him so hard through the playoffs. Dominant relief arms usually don’t sustain that dominance very much longer after that kind of abuse. You only have to look at guys like Gagne, Feliciano, Betances and countless others to see what happens when a manager relies on a reliever too much. That’s why I was so surprised to see Epstein only pick up Chapman. Had he gone down with an injury it’s doubtful the Cubs bullpen would have been enough to win it all. Imagine the Yankees outfield today had he sent Miller with Chapman. Securing Jimenez (who Epstein offered for Chapman) and Contreras or Happ as the package for him. Yankees probably have a World Series win the last few years. Unfortunately, since the Yankees were giving up on the season Cashman had to win the deadline and the only way he could do that was to be seen as fleecing multiple teams. Turns out Cleveland did the fleecing. Miller was almost enough to get them a championship. Any big market team that thinks they are fleecing prospects from one of the smallest is dreaming. Those teams know their prospects inside and out. With the state of the Cleveland OF even back then it’s doubtful they would have let Frazier go if they saw him as a long term starter. Then to include a top 100 starter? Cashman was a fool. Should have stuck with the Cubs and their 108 year drought. They wouldn’t have Hicks today and never would have brought Gallo over.
Gleyber Torres was not the best prospect at that time. Smh. The Yankees could of got Lucas Giolito for Andrew Miller, and stupidly passed.
I thought Chapman might not pitch again this year. I thought the leg infection might be ruse to accomplish that and I thought it was a good move by the Yankees. I guess the Yankees can try him out and then decide if makes the playoff roster.
He’ll sign for a few million and incentives. A lefty who can still hit 101. He’ll be around for years more. He’s not retiring.
As long as it’s not with the Yankees, I could care less.
And oh yes, he’ll take the money, as long as someone’s willing to pay them.
Should have sent down Weissert. Weber has been more than serviceable.
I assume this is to clear the additional roster spot for others returning from the 60-day. Weber is expendable from the 40-man.
Bader is supposed to return next week so it leaves us one remaining spot.
I think they’re getting a bunch of guys back over the next few days. Bader and Rizzo are a couple of days away. I think Castro isn’t far off either. DJ is due back later next week I think. Could potentially see Britton soon. Though I think that one is mostly wishful thinking on my part.
I think that’s pretty accurate, Joe. Consistent with the report I heard on Talkin’ Yanks anyway. Certainly implies a roster crunch may happen.
As long as these pitchers don’t need much time to get “right” this will help the team since they will have a bunch of fresh arms.
Also, I don’t think there is much of a crunch since all they have to do is DFA Hicks and Higgy.
Yeah, if only Hicks would be DFA’d…….
I completely forgot Sevy coming back this week as well.
Yes clipper i wish it was so about hicks, But you know as long as they have to pay him they’re not going to release him. I think the front office knows hes done,or else they would not have brought in Bader. but likely they will try to move him in the off-season, if someone is silly enough to take him.
I mean for god sake, we got stuck with IKf, and Donaldson, one reason because Cashman did not want to just release Sanchez without getting something for him.
He could have just released him this year, but he wanted to get something for him so he signed him for something like $9 million, I’m sure with the idea that then he would try to move him, and something for him. So he was not even willing to release him for nothing, Which shows what his thought process is.
If you think about it, Cashman could have kept Sanchez as a back up to Trevino so he would not have lost him for nothing. We could have kept Gio, Who is better than Donaldson at this stage of his career and much cheaper, and with the money saved gotten ourselves a real live shortstop. We would then have plenty of time to wait for the kids to arrive, And to actually see if they have what it takes.
It’s also good to be getting back a bunch of pitchers clip. But I worry about the fact that it puts Aaron Boone in the position of having to figure out when to use guts, and who to use, and when and where, something that he has shown he is incapable of doing over the course of his tenure unfortunately. It’s a bad time for him to get it figured out now especially as the post season approaches
Yeah, valid points on all you said, DR. If the Yanks bow out early this year they can’t possibly leave things as-is.
Ya know, so many people talk about how George wasn’t what everyone said, due to the 80’s Yankees. But, I’m reality, they had great teams from 83-86. If the WC were in place, the Yankees could’ve very well won additional hardware. Those teams still won 90-97 games. They were flat-out good teams.
The Yankees are good right now, but they’re sacrificing in areas they shouldn’t, like Hicks.
IKF is pretty good
He is, but IKF should not be the Yankees starting SS. He is a great UTL player option, and he has had some very clutch hits. I really like IKF, but the Yankees need a true SS.
incredible but true: the yankees won more games in the 80s than any team in MLB
Chapin has just been awful, for several years now, and you definitely cannot trust him to pitch in a big spot. Hopefully will not be used, except for garbage time.
It pretty much why I never got inked or pierced during the season. They still talk about me at the studio commending me on my ability to sit through an 18 hr sleeve session only to come back in the morning for another 7 hour sitting. It’s all over instagram, however I declined a photo shoot without proper representation
Was that during buffet season you wouldn’t get tatted or pierced ?
So nice to see him back after making the intelligent decision to get a leg tattoo in the dog days of a playoff push. He’s a team first kind of guy.
Nobody seems to have thought it was selfish or reckless when Arrieta got a tattoo in-season:
espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/16538513/jake-arrieta-chic…
I’ve never had a desire to get a tattoo. The point eludes me, and I know I’d get tired of it eventually; but to each his own.
Actually, given his performance, one could argue it was quite considerate of ‘ol Chappy!
Have quite a few tattoos, never had any adverse reactions. Artists from Philly to Fla to Honolulu to Chicago….All my art can be covered with a Polo shirt and cargo shorts…
Over the years I have never met anyone who had bad reactions (from a legit operation) , except feet and and hand recipients.. And they ALL did….
But yeah, I don’t have a golden arm…..on which ALL of my income is reliant upon…?
C’mon Chapman….These guys live in a different stratosphere….but brass tacks….This $#%@ couldn’t wait till the off season…?…and am not even a Yankees fan…
Add me to the list. They completely botched my thumb surgery in Philly and I had also had rotator cuff surgery and couldn’t walk for two days after it was done! The nerve block did something funky with my spinal column and I couldn’t use my left leg. It was a little frightening at first but I got over it.
I’d go with hot chocolate and marshmallow crispy squares (without cocoa crisps)….and and….well I guess grape Nehi….
If that fails, reach out to the HH Holmes medical society…I think they are centered here in Chicago….?
I’ve always liked Weber..Always seemed like a guy who was just missing getting a real, extended look to me..Unfortunately just seems like he came up in the wrong era where it’s throw high 90’s, or you’ll always be on the fringe. Hoping he latches on with someone who will give him a long look.
Hall of Fame? Really? He’s 20th in career saves. Rodney has more than him. He’s tied with Todd Jones.
Not to mention he has that domestic violence case attached to his name. Guilty or not, that will not work in his favor for HOF votes. No chance he gets in.
At his peak Chapman was among the very best. And everyone fails occasionally, including Mo. The thing about relievers is that very often they can’t sustain their peaks. Papelbon retired after a poor year 35 season, Jansen has struggled four out of the last five years, Kimbrel 3 out of the last four, Huston Street done in by injuries at 32, The guys in the HOF (Mo, Hoffman and from earlier eras like Fingers, Wilhelm, Gossage or one-offs like Eck) belong there, maybe Wagner as well, but you can see why small and mid-market teams don’t want to spend on the “famous” ones.
So he’s going to hang around and stink up the place until his next tattoo?
Montas has doubled his ERA from 3.18 to 6.35 since coming to New York. What a disastrous trade. They’re putting German in the bullpen despite his 3.21 ERA as a starter this year.
I heard an interesting comment watching the Cardinals game the other night. While they were interviewing Mozeliak in the booth, Mozeliak was speaking about the Monty trade and said, “and we didn’t give up any of our top talent.” It was a very interesting manner in which to word Bader’s capabilities, imo.
And, Boone has started Hicks now two games in a row in LF again, which is a strong indicator to me that he will be on the postseason roster – yuck.
With Montas certain to get the ball in the postseason, since Cashman probably won’t admit a mistake before it incurs maximum damage, it hardly matters if Hicks is on the roster. They’ll probably suffer a demoralizing laugher every time Montas gets the ball.
Genius move by Cashman, letting Castillo go to the M’s and opting for a guy who’s been used to zero-pressure games pitching in a huge pitcher’s park instead of a guy used to pitching in the Great American Launchpad. But Cashman had his eye on next year’s arbitration, with Montas making $2,325,000 less than Castillo this year. Same reason he traded away Montgomery for a centerfielder in a boot: eye on next year instead of bolstering the roster with this year’s postseason as the priority.
And as we saw again tonight, Holmes is a shaky excuse for a closer. Over his career he has 9 blown saves in 29 save opportunities. As a Yankee, he has 7 blown saves in 27 opportunities. Since the break, he has a 5.29 ERA and a 3.99 FIP. You could tell he was wobbly from the get-go tonight, but whoever was calling the shots after Boone got tossed kept him in there to face six batters.
I don’t see this team going far in October.
Very unfortunate but they’ve squandered their core’s competitive years away. Granted, they’re still winning between 90-100 games, but this team isn’t designed to withstand the postseason. If we are lucky, we will have Cole, Sevy, & Cortez as our 1-3 guys. But, Cole is not that reliable either, unfortunately. Montas would be great as a #4, even though he’s supposed to be a #2.
I have the same feeling that they will lay another egg in the postseason this year. I hope not, but I don’t see the Yankees winning in Houston, honestly.
Castillo has only pitched once in the postseason, 5.1 innings of 6-hit, 1-run ball pitching to a 1.69 ERA in a shutout loss to the Braves.
Montas, on the other hand, owns a dismal 9.53 ERA in two postseason games, with a gruesome 12.27 ERA in his only postseason start, in which he gave up 5 ER in 3.2 innings to — guess who? — the Astros.
And, yes, I said it last night: I don’t trust Cole in the postseason.
Confidence is not high.
Any other year cashman would have been looking at bringing in late bullpen depth. Generally someone else’s successful closer. Not this year. Over valued Chapman. Montas is a slug.
I never doubted it.
Look at what Randy Miller of NJ.com wrote in today’s column and compare it to what I said here last night:
“Later, German made his first bullpen appearance of the season and worked 1 2/3 scoreless innings to keep it a 5-5 game. In the process, the righty lowered his season ERA to 3.12, which is less than half of Montas’ as a Yankee.
“The playoffs aren’t far off and German is out-pitching Montas by a lot, yet he’s in the bullpen. How does that make sense?”
Like I said, Randy, it doesn’t.
Yet, Boone will keep Montas in the starting rotation regardless of how poorly he performs. Hicks’ repeated starts demonstrate that.
Clipper, we may get a break. Reports or Frankie‘s going for an MRI, he’s having some shoulder issues. You can’t make this stuff up. Is this a real injury, or another fake injury to get the struggling Montas out of the rotation and save face for everybody. Although it a doesn’t put a Cashman In good light, he trades for yet another injured player.
It definitely sounds like you would of been happy to trade Peraza, Waldichuk and Will Warren for Castillo? The Yankees had that opportunity weeks before the trading deadline to do so, and for some reason they passed. Castillo seems like a lot better pitcher then Montas. It’s too bad Montas can’t add a circle change to his arsenal, he would be deadly, maybe it’s something they can work with him on in the off-season. The Yankees waited too long to make the trade with Cincinnati, and then the Mariners came back with a great offer, can’t blame the Reds for making the trade with Seattle.
Cashman had five shortstops among his Top 30 prospects. It seems to me he should’ve been able to offer some trade candidate(s) acceptable to the Reds even if he had insisted on holding onto Peraza. As it is, he’s committed to four more years of LeMahieu after this season, and if Torres stays he’s got second base locked up, so where does Volpe play if Peraza is the shortstop of the future? Or if Volpe is the shortstop of the future, where does Peraza play — let alone the other three shortstop prospects Cashman held onto?
This is the part I don’t quite get…they landed highly touted Arias, plus they have Volpe, Sweeney, Cabrera, Vargas, etc. There’s no reason to white knuckle Peraza, especially since they’re obviously not going to use him. IKF is going to be here next year and Boone is clearly going to start him at SS too.
I don’t get the logic or the strategy.
Do the Yankees have a pitching coach issue.. Last night was awful to watch…The play by the Yanks pitichers was just poor..
No, honestly. By all accounts their pitching has been one of their strongest components, and most of the credit is attributable to Matt Blake & co.
The pitching has faltered and last night was one example. But, I think that was more a result of Montas and his terrible pitch location than anything else.
Contributing to the bad outcomes were the inaccurate and inconsistent calls by the home plate umpire. He did an increasingly bad job as the game progressed.
Yeah, this is true, but it was true for both sides. Unfortunately, his call on Miggy was probably the second worst call of the night.
That outside strike was not called at all for the first four or so innings and then he started calling it progressively.
Regardless, Montas wasn’t on, again, and he had another subpar start. The Yankees need pitching in the postseason and paying Cole an exorbitant amount isn’t going to win any games.
Yeah, I wasn’t thinking of Montas; I was thinking of calls later in the game. Montas is just bad.
Might I suggest Chapman get a tattoo to commemorate his activation from the IL.
It seems like a great idea!