As the Boston Red Sox's season has faded into oblivion, the odds of closer Aroldis Chapman being traded seem to be quite high. But there's at least one team that is evidently expected to pass on targeting the eight-time All-Star.
Chapman spent more years of his career with the New York Yankees than any other team. But the relationship soured during the 2022 season, when Chapman missed a mandatory workout ahead of the Yankees' playoff run, and was then left off the club's playoff roster.
New York Post insider Jon Heyman looked into whether there was any chance the bullpen-needy Yankees might look to re-acquire Chapman for what would be his third stint with the ballclub. A high-ranking official in the Yankees organization gave Heyman a definitive answer.
“Not happening,” the official told Heyman.
Chapman, of course, recently said that the Yankees would need to issue him an apology if they were going to bring him back via trade. In other words, he wanted us all to know that he didn't think highly of that organization.
There had already been a lot of educated guesses that the Yankees and Chapman wouldn't be able to get past old hardships to re-form a partnership. Not only that, but if Chapman gets to 40 innings pitched this season, his salary becomes guaranteed for next year, so the Red Sox probably won't want to send him to a team that could use him against them a handful of times next year.
Will the Red Sox trade Chapman? Probably, if they keep floundering at this rate. But the Yankees seem to be one team, perhaps the only team, that we can safely rule out as a landing spot.