1. 新闻来源：
mlbtraderumors
2. 新闻标题：
Aroldis Chapman Refutes Report That He Expects To Opt Out After Season
3. 新闻内容：
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. 新闻连结：
https://tinyurl.com/yxlbwgva
5. 备注：
(1) 日前根据知名记者Ken Rosenthal的可靠消息指出，洋基终结者Aroldis Chapman“
百分之百万”于本季结束后会选择跳出合约。
(2) 但Aroldis Chapman今天对这则消息予以否认，他表示还没有对此做出决定，并指出
这则消息完全是错误的消息，他甚至还没对跳出合约的事情做出决定。
(3) 洋基与终结者Aroldis Chapman于2017年签下$86MM/5YR的合约，每年薪水为$17.2MM。
(4) 目前Aroldis Chapman快速球的均速呈现下滑，但也有98.2 mph，本季挥空率仅12.7%
，比起生涯任何一季都来的低，但他仍缴出K/9值13.0、BB/9值2.9，第一球好球率高达
63.2%是生涯新高。
(5) 比Aroldis Chapman稍微年轻一点的Craig Kimbrel刚与小熊签下$43MM/3YR的合约；
31岁的道奇终结者Kenley Jansen也是在2017年签下$80MM/5YR的大约，但他不会跳出合约
的可能性较高，剩余合约比$38MM/2YR多一点。
(6) 对洋基队而言，Aroldis Chapman如果跳出合约也有值得讨论的空间，毕竟Zack
Britton跟Adam Ottavino都有第九局的经验，Tommy Kahnle、Chad Green也可递补。
(7) Aroldis Chapman本季在洋基队的成绩表现(今年31岁；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