New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone isn’t interested in giving Aroldis Chapman the apology that he is seeking.
Chapman hasn’t been too keen with the manner in which the Yankees treated him toward the end of the 2022 season, even going so far to say that general manager Brian Cashman needs to say he’s sorry. The eight-time All-Star was ruled out of New York’s American League Divisional Series against Cleveland that year after he skipped a mandatory workout.
“At the end of the day, he wasn’t at the workout,” Boone said on Friday. “I made the decision, based on a lot of things and thought, to leave him off because I thought that was the right thing to do for our club at the time.
“Chappy apologized, and really, it’s water under the bridge for me. I love Chappy. I have a really good relationship with him to this day, but the ending of the ‘22 season is what it was. He wasn’t there, and I made the decision that I didn’t think it was best for him to come back at that point. He maintained that he was throwing and would be ready as the playoffs unfolded that year, but ultimately, I made that decision.”
As to whether Chapman was owed an apology, Boone offered a one-word answer: “No.”
Chapman, 38, recorded 153 saves during his seven seasons with New York from 2016-22.
Signed to a one-year, $13.3 million deal with the rival Red Sox, Chapman is 0-1 with a 0.46 ERA and 13 saves in 13 chances for Boston.
Chapman resides in 10th place all-time with 380 career saves while pitching for seven teams since 2010. He won World Series championships with the Chicago Cubs (2016) and Texas Rangers (2023).
