1. 新聞來源：
mlbtraderumors
2. 新聞標題：
Aroldis Chapman Refutes Report That He Expects To Opt Out After Season
3. 新聞內容：
By Jeff Todd | July 17, 2019 at 2:23pm CDT
2:34pm: Chapman made clear to reporters today that he has yet to make any
such decision, as MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch was among those to report on Twitter.
He says he has not even yet discussed the matter and calls it “completely
false” to suggest he has decided to opt out.
2:23pm: A confidant of Yankees lefty Aroldis Chapman says that the star
reliever is “one million percent” likely to exercise his opt-out clause and
return to the open market at the end of the season, according to a report
from Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (subscription link).
It’s not really surprising to hear such a stance from the 31-year-old
fireballer. He is owed another $30MM over two years on the contract he inked
to return to New York after the 2017 season. But as MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes
wrote just yesterday, in ranking Chapman sixth among pending free agents, it
seems reasonable to think he could secure a rather significantly larger
contract on the open market — even given that he’ll certainly be forced to
reject a qualifying offer and carry the burden of draft compensation if he
opts out.
True, Chapman is exhibiting a typical velocity reduction at this stage of his
career. But in his case that means he’s averaging 98.2 mph with his
four-seamer — good for fourth among all qualified relievers in baseball.
Chapman is also still sitting in triple-digits (second in baseball) with a
two-seam offering that he has gone to more than ever.
It is notable that Chapman carries only a 12.7% swinging-strike rate, lower
than any of his single-season marks. But he’s still carrying an excellent
2.45 ERA with 13.0 K/9 and 2.9 K/9. Notably, that walk rate is much better
than Chapman’s typical 4+ rate. His first-pitch strike rate sits at 63.2%, a
personal high.
Some might point to the Craig Kimbrel contract as reason for Chapman to think
twice. But that’s an odd interpretation, particularly considering that the
latter has not (to this point, at least) shown the kinds of worrying signs
that Kimbrel did in his platform season. Kimbrel also could have landed a
larger deal had things shaken out differently in the way his market situation
unfolded. Oh, and the contract he did sign? He ultimately took down $43MM
over three seasons, the first of which he only played in the second half. That
’s clearly a better deal for a relief pitcher of this age than Chapman’s
remaining 2/30.
Chapman also won’t face immense competition from the remainder of the free
agent market. Kenley Jansen seems less likely to opt out, as he’s not only
owed more ($38MM) over the two years of his deal but has shown more worrying
declines in velocity and some key peripherals. Otherwise, Will Smith does
provide interested teams with another high-end lefty reliever to consider,
but he lacks Chapman’s long track record of consistent dominance. And it isn
’t as if both can’t find hefty paydays.
For the Yankees, a Chapman opt-out would create some interesting choices. The
club would certainly have internal alternatives, even with Dellin Betances
(who’s still working towards his season debut) also set to test the open
market. Veterans Zack Britton and Adam Ottavino have experience in the ninth,
while Tommy Kahnle and Chad Green have the kind of stuff that teams like to
see in that spot. It’s possible the Yanks could look into Smith and explore
the trade market. And as Dierkes noted in his writeup on the top pending free
agents, it’s not hard to imagine a scenario where the Yanks forestall an
opt-out by adding to the existing contract — or simply beat the rest of the
market to bring the power southpaw back to the Bronx.
4. 新聞連結：
https://tinyurl.com/yxlbwgva
5. 備註：
(1) 日前根據知名記者Ken Rosenthal的可靠消息指出，洋基終結者Aroldis Chapman「
百分之百萬」於本季結束後會選擇跳出合約。
(2) 但Aroldis Chapman今天對這則消息予以否認，他表示還沒有對此做出決定，並指出
這則消息完全是錯誤的消息，他甚至還沒對跳出合約的事情做出決定。
(3) 洋基與終結者Aroldis Chapman於2017年簽下$86MM/5YR的合約，每年薪水為$17.2MM。
(4) 目前Aroldis Chapman快速球的均速呈現下滑，但也有98.2 mph，本季揮空率僅12.7%
，比起生涯任何一季都來的低，但他仍繳出K/9值13.0、BB/9值2.9，第一球好球率高達
63.2%是生涯新高。
(5) 比Aroldis Chapman稍微年輕一點的Craig Kimbrel剛與小熊簽下$43MM/3YR的合約；
31歲的道奇終結者Kenley Jansen也是在2017年簽下$80MM/5YR的大約，但他不會跳出合約
的可能性較高，剩餘合約比$38MM/2YR多一點。
(6) 對洋基隊而言，Aroldis Chapman如果跳出合約也有值得討論的空間，畢竟Zack
Britton跟Adam Ottavino都有第九局的經驗，Tommy Kahnle、Chad Green也可遞補。
(7) Aroldis Chapman本季在洋基隊的成績表現(今年31歲；今年薪水：$17.2MM)：
ERA HLD SV SVO IP SO HR BB ERA+ FIP WHIP
2.45 0 25 29 36.2 53 2 12 185 2.10 1.118