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Former Yankee Aroldis Chapman agrees to one-year deal with Royals: reports

Aroldis Chapman will be wearing a new uniform in 2023. The 34-year-old flamethrower reportedly agreed to a one-year, $3.8 million contract with the Kansas City Royals with performance incentives and pending a physical.

The southpaw’s Yankee tenure came to an ugly conclusion after he missed mandatory workouts prior to the postseason and was left off of the roster.

“It was surprising at first [that he skipped the workout], a little shocking, but after the shock wore off, when you add everything up, it’s not surprising,” Yankees GM Brian Cashman said at the time. “There’s some questions about whether he’s been in all-in or not for a little while. He’s maintained verbally that he’s in, but at times, actions don’t match those words.”

The reliever had a rocky season all around including his performance on the mound. Chapman posted a career-high 4.46 ERA in 43 appearances last season surrendering the closer role to Clay Holmes for the majority of the year — thanks in part to Chapman missing a portion of last season due to an infected tattoo.

The seven-time All-Star was effective for the majority of his time with the Bombers. The Cuban native recorded a 2.94 ERA with 153 saves and 453 strikeouts over seven seasons with the Yankees.

His postseason experience with the Yankees was more of a roller coaster ride. While Chapman owns an outstanding career 2.42 ERA in the postseason, some of the worst moments in recent Yankee playoff history happened while he was on the mound.

Most notably, Jose Altuve’s walk-off homer in Game 6 of the 2019 ALCS was filled with controversy from the Astros cheating scandal to the closer appearing to laugh while Altuve was rounding the bases. In the 2020 postseason, Chapman surrendered a go-ahead late-inning homer to Mike Brosseau which ultimately led the Rays into the ALCS and eventually the World Series where they lost to the Dodgers.

The Bombers acquired Chapman in a deal with the Cincinnati Reds prior to the start of the 2016 season after allegations of domestic violence and served a 30-game suspension to start his time in the Bronx. The Yanks then traded their closer — who was in his contract season — to the Cubs in exchange for Gleyber Torres at the 2016 trade deadline. Chapman was a huge contributor to ending the 108-year World Series drought for the Cubs.

The Yanks signed the southpaw to a five-year, $86 million contract after the 2016 season which was the largest contract handed out to a relief pitcher at the time. GM Brian Cashman and the Bombers tacked on another year to the deal at $18 million after 2019.

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Source: Berkshire mont

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