Yankees are well positioned to survive Aroldis Chapman’s injury

Aroldis Chapman is a great closer for the Yankees, but the depth of New York’s bullpen should be good enough to absorb his absence effectively.

Losing Aroldis Chapman to a knee injury will have an effect on the Yankees, but they are one of the few teams in baseball who can handle losing a dominant closer without drastic changes to their bullpen. Aaron Boone has enough relief options to stay afloat without Chapman rests his injured knee.

As predicted, the Yankees placed Chapman on the 10 day disabled list after he left Tuesday night’s game against the Marlins in the 12th inning due to injury. When the talented left-hander limped off the mound in Miami it was obvious he’d miss some time. The team recalled Chance Adams to take Chapman’s place on the roster and in the bullpen.

Adams will not, however, be expected to pick up the closing role in Chapman’s absence. Those duties could go three different Yankees pitchers. Zach Britton, Dellin Betances and David Robertson all have the experience and stuff to close out games for Boone.

Robertson is the least likely of the three to get the assignment due to an injury of his own. He’s not on the disabled list, but he wasn’t healthy enough to pitch in Miami on Tuesday night. The organization doesn’t think his shoulder issue is serious, but it’s bothering him enough to request a day or two off.

That leaves Boone with an interesting choice to make. Britton has a lot of experiencing closing games in the AL East from his days in Baltimore. He wasn’t throwing the ball well when he first arrived in the Bronx, but he’s been much better as of late. The only downside to preserving Britton for the 9th inning is that it would leave the Yankees without a left hander to deploy against left-handed hitters in late game situations.

The lack of another southpaw in the bullpen may be just enough to give Dellin Betances the closer role while Chapman is on the shelf. He doesn’t have the experience Britton can boast, but he may have better stuff than anyone else on the staff. Betances had his own struggles early in the season, but he’s been lights out lately. His combination of an electric fastball and a devastating slider can be a nightmare for opposing hitters.

The real key for the Yankees in Chapman’s absence will be to get quality outings from their starters. Without the electric Cuban in the bullpen, Boone will be short one of his best arms. The team can replace what he does in the ninth inning, but they can’t afford to have the rest of the bullpen get overworked while he isn’t out there to finish games. The Yankees are well positioned to cover for Chapman’s absence, but it still can present problems for the team. Losing an All-Star closer has that effect on teams.