MLB power rankings: Best player on each team

New York Yankees: RP Aroldis Chapman

The Yankees traded Chapman to the eventual World Series champion Chicago Cubs near the trade deadline last year, for a solid return, then came back and signed him to a five-year, $86 million deal when he hit free agency. The fireballing left-hander combined to save 36 games last season, with 90 strikeouts over 58 regular season innings, and then registered four saves for the Cubs during the postseason (three saves in the National League Division Series against the San Francisco Giants).

The Yankees’ roster is across a wide spectrum on the career trajectory, with some promising young players (Gary Sanchez, Aaron Judge, Greg Bird, Luis Severino), some well-known veterans (C.C. Sabathia, Jacoby Ellsbury, Matt Holiday) and some in between (Starlin Castro, Didi Gregorius, Brett Gardner). But legit, difference making, face of the franchise star power is not there right now, and Chapman is arguably the best closer around.

The construction and usage of bullpens is slowly changing around baseball, with a team’s best reliever not necessarily always used to lock down wins exclusively in the ninth inning. But there’s still something to be said for someone who does fill that specific role at a high level, with great value still attached to it (as clearly evidenced by Chapman’s free agent contract), and Chapman makes hitters uncomfortable in a way not many pitchers do.