It was announced Saturday night that the New York Yankees have extended the contract of closer Aroldis Chapman. The 31 year old six-time all star had a contract that ended in 2021 but had an opt-out after 2019.
Chapman didn’t opt-out, and instead the Yankees extended him through 2022. He will make $15 million in 2020 and 2021, while making $18 million in 2022. His deal has no more opt-outs.
My Thoughts:
I think that the way the Yankees and Aroldis Chapman did this was really smart. They didn’t spend a ton on him and they are keeping their closer for at least the next three years without a huge salary cap hit.
But, Chapman needs to continue to prove that he’s worth the money that they spent. He needs to keep developing his off-speed pitches and try to reduce the amount of velocity he loses each year. He also needs to stay out of trouble so hopefully the team doesn’t have to deal with another Domingo German like situation. Remember, Chapman served a suspension for domestic abuse a few seasons ago.
The good news is, if Chapman struggles a bit and needs to be taken out of the closing role, the Yankees have Zack Britton to fill his place.
But, overall I’m very satisfied with the deal. Chapman has been one of the best closers in baseball and it’s good that he will remain on the Yankees. He won this year’s “Reliever of the Year” award and hopefully he will win many more.
This is the first of many moves the Yankees will make to try and win a World Series in 2020.