‘FORGET’ ONESELF
Hal backtracks on Aroldis comment
Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner defended the team’s decision to bring back Aroldis Chapman on Thursday — and not without some controversy.
Steinbrenner said it was time to “forget” about the domestic violence incident that led to Chapman’s 30day suspension last season, which is what helped land the closer with the Yankees in the first place.
“He admitted he messed up,” Steinbrenner said at Major League Baseball’s owners’ meetings in Palm Beach, Fla. “He paid the penalty, right? Sooner or later we forget, right? That’s the way we’re supposed to be in life.”
Later, when questioned about the comment, Steinbrenner told Newsday he misspoke and meant to say “forgive,” not “forget.”
When the Yankees traded for Chapman in December 2015, they were criticized by some women’s groups, but the lefty was greeted warmly by fans throughout his time in The Bronx after serving his suspension.
Chapman returned to the Yankees on a five-year, $86 million deal this offseason after trading him to the Cubs in July in exchange for top prospect Gleyber Torres, among others. Chapman helped lead the Cubs to their first World Series title since 1908.
“Obviously he is a special player,” Steinbrenner said. “It’s a lot of money for a reliever.”
He’ll be back as the closer this season on a team in transition, with the days of World Series-orbust declarations from ownership appearing to be on hold for now.
“I always think I have a playoff team,” Steinbrenner said. “A lot of things have to go right. I get it. But I think the potential is there if things do.”
Chief among those things is the health of the starting rotation and production from inexperienced members of the lineup, such as Gary Sanchez, Greg Bird and Aaron Judge.
“Every spring training brings new hope,” Steinbrenner said. “But this one feels different and there’s no doubt the kids are a part of it.”
Now, the Yankees have to see if those kids can produce.
“We know from our fans this is as excited as they have been in a while,” Steinbrenner said. “Maybe it’s because we did not do a good job for a number of years getting kids from Single-A all the way up to the varsity club.”
Signs of change began last year, when Sanchez displaced Brian McCann as the starting catcher after reaching the majors for good in August, which led to McCann being traded to Houston this offseason.
The Yankees now will see if their prospects actually can meet lofty expectations as the roster turns over.
Gone are Alex Rodriguez (as a player) and Mark Teixeira, while CC Sabathia is entering the final year of his contract.
“It’s going to allow me to get down to where I think no team should have to be [at the most] to win a championship, which is right around the [luxury tax] threshold,” Steinbrenner said of payroll. “But these young players are going to have to pan out. That’s going to be part of the equation.”
The Yankees want that equation to include getting below the $197 million threshold next year.
“We will put money back into the club like we always do,” Steinbrenner said. “But I think the threshold is a good payroll.”