BOSTON — For the past several weeks, the Yankees and Red Sox have been set up to face each other in the wild-card round in just over two weeks.
And if that holds up, the Yankees would have to deal with Aroldis Chapman, who is having arguably the best season of his career at 37.
He went 17 appearances without allowing a hit or a run from July 23 until Wednesday — and then gave up an insurance run in the Yankees’ 5-3 win at Fenway Park on Saturday.
It’s still hard to fathom he’s the same pitcher who struggled so much near the end of his tenure in The Bronx that Chapman lost his closer’s role to Clay Holmes and then was left off the postseason roster after missing a mandatory team workout at Yankee Stadium prior to the ALDS because he was at his home in Miami.
It came after a regular season in which Chapman missed time with an Achilles injury and hit the IL again due to a leg infection that stemmed from getting a tattoo.
He then signed with the Royals in 2023, won a World Series with Texas after a midseason trade before his stunning rejuvenation this year in Boston.
Despite the ugly finish to his time with the Yankees, the left-hander said he wouldn’t look at a postseason matchup against the Yankees any differently than any other team.
“I don’t think about it,’’ Chapman said through an interpreter. “I just play. I try to do my job and they try to do their job.”
And he even said he doesn’t begrudge them for leaving him off the ALDS roster against Cleveland.
“I understand why they made the decision,” Chapman said. “I wasn’t having a great season, so there’s no hard feelings for how things happened.”
But Chapman pushed back against the idea that he intentionally skipped the practice nearly three years ago, when he was fined by general manager Brian Cashman and kept off the playoff roster by Aaron Boone.
“They’re entitled to their opinion, but everyone knew the day I was going and the day I was coming back,’’ Chapman said. “They said I missed practice, but they knew the time I was gonna be away.”
He said he intended to come back to New York on Saturday.
“I can’t move time backwards,’’ Chapman said. “I feel like it was their responsibility to call me to tell me it was a mandatory practice. They knew when I was gonna be away in Miami.”
Boone, at the time, said Chapman did not have an “acceptable excuse” for missing the workout. The manager and GM declined comment about Chapman’s side of the events, but team officials remain indignant at the idea that Chapman didn’t know he had to be at the workout and continue to believe he didn’t show up because he was bothered by his poor performance and reduced role.
Still, Chapman remains a well-respected player by his current and former teammates and coaches.
Certainly, though, when the two sides parted ways the following offseason, it would have been hard to anticipate Chapman’s recent resurgence.
His 0.669 WHIP is the best in the majors among qualified relievers, as well as the lowest of his borderline Hall of Fame career.
And he recently had an incredible seven-week run without allowing a hit over 17 straight appearances. It was snapped in a loss to the A’s on Wednesday.
“I’m happy for the results I’m having,’’ Chapman said. “I don’t think too much about it. I just work out and focus on what I can control and the hard work is paying off.”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
