Yankees could face rejuvenated Aroldis Chapman in wild-card showdown

BOSTON — If the current postseason projections hold, the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox are on a collision course for the American League wild-card round in about two weeks, and Red Sox left-hander Aroldis Chapman has emerged as a potential deciding factor.

Chapman, 37, has enjoyed one of the best seasons of his career in Boston, posting a 0.669 WHIP that is the lowest among qualified major-league relievers and the lowest of his long career. From July 23 until a loss to the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday, Chapman made 17 consecutive appearances without allowing a hit or a run. That streak ended just days before he surrendered an insurance run in the ninth inning of the Red Sox’s 5-3 loss to the Yankees at Fenway Park on Saturday.

Chapman’s resurgence stands in contrast to the way his tenure in New York ended. Near the close of his time with the Yankees, he lost the closer’s role to Clay Holmes and was left off the club’s ALDS roster after missing a mandatory team workout at Yankee Stadium while he was in Miami. The absence, and the decision to omit him from the playoff roster, created a rift between Chapman and Yankees management that has lingered in public discussion.

Chapman, speaking through an interpreter, said he would not approach a postseason matchup against his former team any differently than any other opponent. “I don’t think about it,” he said. “I just play. I try to do my job and they try to do their job.” He added that he understood why the Yankees made the decision to leave him off the playoff roster and said he bore no hard feelings. “I understand why they made the decision. I wasn’t having a great season, so there’s no hard feelings for how things happened.”

At the same time, Chapman pushed back on characterizations that he intentionally skipped the workout nearly three years earlier. He said the club knew the dates of his travel to and from Miami and that he intended to return to New York on a 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.”

Yankees manager Aaron Boone and general manager Brian Cashman said at the time that Chapman did not have an “acceptable excuse” for missing the workout. Team officials have declined to comment on Chapman’s recent remarks, and source accounts within the organization say there remains frustration over the incident and the circumstances surrounding his reduced role.

Chapman’s path to this season included a number of detours. He missed time in previous seasons with an Achilles injury and later with a leg infection that stemmed from getting a tattoo. He signed with the Kansas City Royals in 2023 and was later part of a midseason trade that saw him win a World Series ring with the Texas Rangers before signing with Boston and beginning the current resurgence.

Teammates and coaches in Boston have expressed respect for Chapman’s experience and performance, and his numbers fuel the acclaim. His sub-1.00 WHIP stands out for a reliever with a long big-league resume that includes multiple All-Star appearances and high-leverage postseason innings. His 17-appearance stretch without allowing a hit or run attracted national attention as the Red Sox jockeyed for playoff positioning.

The potential matchup carries roster and bullpen-management implications for both clubs. Aroldis Chapman, despite his age, is serving in a high-leverage late-inning role and has shown the velocity and command that once made him one of baseball’s most dominant closers. For the Yankees, preparing to face a lefty reliever with Chapman’s history and recent form would be part of standard postseason planning; Chapman said he views a postseason game the same way he views a regular-season appearance.

With the wild-card round roughly two weeks away, the Yankees and Red Sox will finalize their October rosters and bullpen roles, and Chapman’s form will be a factor in how Boston deploys its relievers. Chapman acknowledged the career arc that brought him to this year’s success and said his focus has been on controlling what he can. “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,” he said.

If the projected pairing holds and both teams secure their postseason spots, the matchup between the Yankees’ lineup and Chapman’s late-inning work will draw extra attention because of both the pitcher’s past with New York and his current dominance for Boston. Managers and front offices typically decline to outline postseason strategies in detail until rosters are set, but Chapman’s season-long numbers and recent streaks make him a potential late-inning weapon for the Red Sox and a focal point for Yankees preparations.