Aroldis Chapman is done fighting yesterday’s war.
A month ago, the Red Sox closer told anyone with a microphone that “someone from the organization” owed him an apology before any Yankees reunion could happen. That someone was Brian Cashman. That someone still has not called. And Chapman, apparently, has moved on.
Speaking with New York Post’s Jon Heyman ahead of Tuesday’s All-Star Game at Citizens Bank Park, Chapman waved the whole thing off.
“I turned the page a long time ago,” Chapman told Heyman. “They asked me a question and I answered.”
Translation: he is not sitting around waiting for Brian Cashman to write him a note. Not with the August 3 trade deadline three weeks away and the Red Sox surging into the break in serious contention.
The backstory is ugly. The Yankees left Chapman off their playoff roster after he allegedly missed a mandatory team workout ahead of their divisional round series with the Guardians. Cashman went public shortly after, calling Chapman out and questioning his motivation across the entire season. Cashman is not usually one to fillet a player in the press, so when he did, it stuck.
Chapman left in free agency, bounced through Kansas City, Texas and Pittsburgh with mixed results, and then landed with Boston on a prove-it deal that has aged beautifully.
How beautifully? Through 97 games as a Red Sox reliever across two seasons, the 38-year-old has posted a 1.50 ERA and a 0.87 WHIP. Tuesday marks his ninth All-Star Game appearance. He is throwing 100-plus into his late 30s and closing games for a Boston team that entered the break clearly in the American League playoff picture.
Which brings us to why the apology talk got parked in a hurry.
Chapman knows how this works. The Red Sox are 55-40 and holding one of the top wild-card spots. Boston’s front office has zero reason to move their All-Star closer in a walk year when the team is chasing a division and a playoff run. If Chapman keeps up any warpath against a rival GM, the story becomes about him instead of the team.
He also is not stupid. If the Red Sox do fade in July and Craig Breslow decides Chapman is worth more as a rental to a contender than as a Boston piece, there are only so many teams willing to trade for a 38-year-old closer on a one-year deal. Any team that inquires wants a clean file. Not a guy in a public feud with a GM who could come calling.
The Yankees are in that same window. New York’s bullpen has been shaky and Cashman has never been shy about moving on when a move makes sense. If it comes down to Chapman for Chapman’s price, this small talk about apologies is going to disappear in a hurry.
So the smart play was exactly what he did. Kill the story, take the emotion out of it, and let his sub-1.50 ERA do the pitching for him at the deadline.
The Red Sox would rather he stay. They are surging and they know closer help is scarce at the deadline. But even if he ends up in a different uniform in August, Chapman clearly understands that grudges do not throw 102. He does.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
