I Will Never Play With Yankees If Aaron Boone Is Coach Talented Star Join Rivals Over Yankees

admin | February 4, 2024 | New York Yankees | No Comments

I Will Never Play With Yankees If Aaron Boone Is Coach Talented Star Join Rivals Over Yankees

The Dodgers’ bullpen in the second half of the 2023 season was one of the better in baseball, and it helped spark their run to another NL West title. The Dodgers ranked first out of 30 teams in FanGraphs’ version of Wins Above Replacement.

One of the reasons for the success was the emergence of relief pitcher Ryan Brasier. Brasier is currently a free agent, but the Dodgers have had interest in bringing him back for next year.

It seems that the Dodgers have some competition to keep him on the team next season, though. According to The New York Post’s Jon Heyman, the New York Yankees are looking into bringing Brasier aboard for their bullpen.

Brasier joined Los Angeles on a minor-league contract last June and turned his opportunity into a career revival. He worked his way onto the big-league club and was special for the Dodgers, posting an ERA of 0.70 and a WHIP of 0.72 over 39 games.

While he was great with the team last season, there is no guarantee that he can replicate his production. Brasier will be turning 37 next season, and he wasn’t very good before joining the Dodgers. He put up an ERA of 7.29 over 20 games with the Boston Red Sox before they released him.

The Dodgers have normally been hesitant to hand out large free-agent contracts to relief pitchers, and it has seen multiple guys leave the organization. Last winter it was Chris Martin heading to the Boston Red Sox, and a few years ago, it was Brandon Morrow going to the Chicago Cubs.

Due to this hesitancy, it could mean that Brasier will be gone. However, the heavy spending from this offseason could see the team continue to get away from their normal spending patterns.

Photo Credit: Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports

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The relationship between Aroldis Chapman and Andrew McCutchen is one founded on competitiveness — with a dose of a fastball (or two) that went up and inside. After all, the two were staples in a divisional rivalry between the Cincinnati Reds (Chapman) and Pittsburgh Pirates (McCutchen) from 2010-15 and Chapman was the closer trying to silence McCutchen’s powerful bat.

In 2012, Chapman let go of a 98-mph fastball that nailed McCutchen in the shoulder, and at the time, it riled up fans and McCutchen, who called it “a little intentional” before watching the replay and seeing a nod of apology from Chapman.

The two were able to further patch up any hard feelings from their battles when they played together for the New York Yankees in 2018.

“Yeah, obviously, we had an incident going back to when I was with the Reds,” said Chapman, who signed a $10.5 million contract with the Pirates this offseason, via a translator Wednesday. “But those are things that are part of life in baseball. You get caught up in the games. But from my time with him at the Yankees, I can say he’s an excellent person. He’s an excellent ballplayer. I’m glad I was able to build a relationship there with him.”

From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Chapman was front and center for plenty of beanball wars when he was with the Reds. Andrew McCutchen insisted Chapman was headhunting and made his feelings about it known, though the two seemingly got over that long ago.

Chapman’s overpowering fastball-heavy repertoire has certainly gotten the best of McCutchen, who has three hits (one home run) in 17 plate appearances against the left-hander.

Now, Chapman, who has played parts of seven seasons with the Yankees, will join McCutchen again. He hopes to impart his World Series-winning experience (he has two) to the Pirates, who last won a championship in 1979 and last reached the playoffs in 2015.

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