Though he can be erratic on the mound, Aroldis Chapman remains one of the more useful closers in baseball.
And it looks like he plans on continuing to be compensated as such.
The New York Yankees closer has two more years left on his contract, but he has an opt-out clause he can exercise between now and Monday. MLB insider Jon Heyman on Friday shared the latest update on the southpaw.
Aroldis Chapman prefers to remain a Yankee and will pursue an extension with the team. If no extension can be done quickly, he will opt out of the $30M and 2 years left on his contract. Whereupon the Yankees will extend the $17.8M qualifying offer (which he obvs would decline)
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) November 1, 2019
Considering how 2019 unfolded for Craig Kimbrel, one has to think Chapman would be reticent to test free agency given how much money he seems to be angling for.
The 31-year-old has been an All-Star in back-to-back seasons, earning 37 saves this year with a 2.21 ERA. His season ended by surrendering a walk-off homer to Jose Altuve in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series, which gave the Houston Astros the series victory.
