Yankees Aroldis Chapman Hits the DL: Fantasy Impact

By Brad Kelly | May 14, 2017

Apr 22, 2017; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; New York Yankees relief pitcher Aroldis Chapman (54) and catcher Austin Romine (27) celebrate after defeating the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park. The Yankees won 11-5. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports /

Aroldis Chapman is headed to the DL for the Yankees. What is the fantasy impact of this news moving forward?

It seems that each day that passes in MLB this season, another star is placed on the DL. News broke today that the Yankees are placing star reliever Aroldis Chapman on the DL due to shoulder inflammation. So, what is the fantasy impact of the news?

Something was clearly amiss with Chapman over is his last two appearances. The velocity was there, but the command has completely left him. He has done a great job of reigning in his control over the years, but he has surrendered six hits and four earned runs over his last two times on the mound.

While the hope is that this was nothing more than a precautionary move, there has to be some concern with it being his shoulder and the level of torque he puts on his arm every pitch. The Yankees are in the middle of a great start to the season, but losing Chapman for an extended period does serve as a huge blow.

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The Yankees have made a concerted effort in building a strong bullpen each season and that has not changed in 2017. They have one of the deepest bullpens in the league outside of just Chapman, who is arguably the best anchor a team could ask for.

The clearest bump in fantasy value will be with Dellin Betances. He saw time as the closer last season and was up and down for the most part. But, with his 12 SV in 2016 and that experience under his belt, he should be solid in the role for the time being. He is in the middle of another amazing season, 0.77 ERA/22 K/6 HLD over 11 innings of work.

Both Tyler Clippard and Adam Warren will see their value rise as well, now that they will be tasked with sliding into more later-inning roles. Both have pitched great this season and would be great speculative adds for those in HLD leagues.

For those owners that need a replacement for Chapman, there are some options on the wire. We covered early this week about Justin Wilson being thrust into the closer role and there are the likes of Derek Law and Bud Norris out on the wire.

Norris the better long-term add as Law will have Melancon returning soon. The Angels may not win many games this season, but Norris is the one getting the ball in the ninth and has converted six of seven saves and has a tidy 3.32 ERA.

Next: Indians Josh Tomlin: Fantasy Value Rising?

No one can replace the value that Aroldis Chapman brings, there was a reason he was the first reliever off the board this season. But, there are some options floating on the waiver wire that can help for the time being. Scour the wire and hope that Chapman is just down for the next month.

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