Prior to Monday’s game against the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees reliever Aroldis Chapman looked somewhat rusty after a prolonged absence due to a positive COVID-19 test. The Bombers ended up winning 6-3 against their archrivals, but the Cuban Missile allowed some damage.
Fortunately, Chapman didn’t put the victory in jeopardy and was able to finish off the game, allowing one run on two hits while striking out two in a non-save situation. The lefty has been a force from the bullpen his whole career and had a 2.21 ERA and 37 saves in 2019.
Upon returning to the team, New York Yankees’ manager Aaron Boone clarified that despite Zack Britton’s success while filling in for Chapman as the ninth-inning man, the Cuban will be the closer from this point forward.
“We’ll build him up slowly this first week as far as by not having him do any back-to-backs or anything like that,” said Boone to MLB.com. “We’ll kind of monitor him this week, but in a save situation, he’ll be in there.”
The Yankees’ Cuban Missile showed his trademark fastball velocity
Despite the imperfect outing, Chapman’s trademark fastball velocity was in vintage form: his heater touched 101.3 miles per hour against Rafael Devers in the final at-bat of the game.
“I never worry about [velocity],” Chapman said through an interpreter after the game. “I was able to work the whole time. It was key for me to keep on working, keep on training. So in my mind, I was never worried about it.”
Chapman explained that he only experienced mild symptoms of coronavirus upon his diagnosis, early in Summer Camp. He lost smell and taste, but was nevertheless able to keep working out.
“Luckily, I felt good throughout the whole time in quarantine,” Chapman said through an interpreter. “I had to get creative. I had to purchase some equipment and move some stuff around the apartment to try to get as close as I could to my regular workout routine.”