Closer extraordinaire Aroldis Chapman always struck me as a pretty smart cat, but he seems to have things backward this time. He recently suggested the Yankees would need to apologize to him if they’re going to acquire him via trade when he probably should still be thanking them for helping him revive his once-endangered career. 

Before we compare and contrast the conflicting stories about a missed workout leading to Chapman’s alleged, apparent upset, let’s put his mind mostly at ease. My guess is he said what he said to kill any chance the Yankees might bring him back via trade, and I do hear they have no interest in a reunion. (The team responses, which are below, couldn’t be much stronger.) 

Chapman is a borderline Hall of Fame case who’s four strikeouts from the all-time record for relievers that belongs to Hoyt Wilhelm and currently carries an 0.83 ERA. So he makes sense on the most basic level. 

The Yankees seek at this trade deadline to upgrade a bullpen that is solid but something less than overwhelming (they’re fifth in ERA at 3.35 but 24th in strikeouts with 237). As of today, he looks likely to be easily the best reliever to hit the market.