Aroldis Chapman pitched one scoreless inning in relief Friday night on a rehab assignment at Double-A Somerset as he makes his way back to the Yankees from Achilles tendinitis, giving up a hit and striking out one batter. Chapman hit 99 on the radar gun, according to a MyCentralJersey.com report.
Chapman reportedly didn’t speak to media after the game, but Somerset manager Dan Fiorito was encouraged by the outing.
“He looked great, [said he] felt great, it was just awesome to see him healthy again and competing again,” Fiorito told the website. “He did a great job, you could just see the life he had on his fastball and how he was getting on hitters. He looked like Aroldis Chapman.”
Chapman is now one step closer to rejoining the bullpen, regardless of how he and dominant fill-in closer Clay Holmes are used at the end of games.
“I’m excited about getting Chappy healthy and another impactful reliever in our bullpen,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said before the Yankees’ 3-1 loss to the Astros at the Stadium. “We’ve been dinged up back there. It’s just going to make us better.”
Aroldis Chapman pitched one inning in relief Friday night on a rehab assignment at Double-A Somerset as he makes his way back to the Yankees from Achilles tendinitis.Somerset Patriots Chapman, who has 315 career saves but was struggling before he landed on the injured list, recently said he would accept “any role.” Holmes has converted 12 of 13 save opportunities and has not allowed a run in 30 of 32 appearances.
“Clay has become an absolute beast,” Boone said. “Hopefully, Chappy is healthy and gives us another guy that can really help shorten the game.”
Boone said he does not feel a need to name a closer. Chapman, who last pitched on May 22 when his ERA ballooned to 3.86, would be the fourth left-hander in a bullpen featuring Wandy Peralta, Lucas Luetge and Manny Banuelos.
“It’s going to be where they match up the best,” Boone said. “Clay has certainly earned being in that closer role, but even with Aroldis out, it doesn’t mean I wouldn’t shoot [Holmes] in the right eighth-inning situation.”
The Yankees distributed 18,000 “Nasty Nestor” T-shirts to fans on Friday, with members of the team including Matt Carpenter and Nestor Cortes himself wearing them ahead of the game.
“When you have your own shirt in a big-league stadium, that really exemplifies that you’ve made it,” Cortes told The Post. “I knew it was coming in here, but it’s going to be nice when a lot of people have it on in the stands.”
Aaron Hicks made a diving catch on a Jose Altuve liner in the fourth inning, the latest in a run of good play for Hicks in left field, a position Boone has noted he’s still adjusting to after playing primarily center field the last few seasons.
