So long, Aroldis Chapman!
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| (July 22, 2016 - Source: Elsa/Getty Images North America) |
Contributing Writer
At 51-48, the New York Yankees are over .500 by a hair. But in all honestly, they just suck. They are beyond mediocre and have finally come to the conclusion that as the Trade Deadline approaches, they need to put their cockiness aside and be sellers.
Yesterday, they traded away their fire-breathing closer, Aroldis Chapman, to the Chicago Cubs. For the Yankees, being a seller in this scenario paid off since they got a haul of prospects in-return. Let's face it: the Yankees need to rebuild to be great again.
This trade directly impacts the Red Sox in a positive way.
Actually, this trade is good for the Sox, Orioles and Blue Jays. But since this is "RedSoxLife.com", we're just going to focus on the Red Sox-side of things.
The Red Sox play the Yankees 10 more times this season and with Chapman gone, it opens up the possibility of ninth inning-comebacks. There's also trade rumors surrounding Andrew Miller as well, so that would take out 2 of the 3 lethal parts of the backend of the Yankee bullpen.
Against Chapman, the Red Sox have 1 hit in 22 at-bats. The 1 hit is from Aaron Hill.
Despite a late surge, the Yankees aren't going to be "contending" for much longer. They'll become a spoiler-team for legitimate contenders come seasons' end. One team they will obviously hope to spoil is the Red Sox.
The games against the Yankees are going to be considered must-wins and without Chapman, winning games toward the later innings will become much easier for the Red Sox. The Sox haven't been great at close games this year. Chapman leaving the division doesn't give the Red Sox a guaranteed comeback-win in the ninth, but they'll at least have a better shot.
All in all, Chapman leaving the division and heading to the National League is an incredibly positive thing for the Red Sox. I'm just hoping we don't have to face him in the World Series.
Follow Evan Marinofsky on Twitter @emarinofsky for all of his Red Sox thoughts and opinions.
