Chapman faces hitters as he gets close to returning
Aroldis Chapman said he will throw one more simulated game in the alternate training site and then — barring any issues — should be ready to return to the majors. The Yankees closer has yet to make his 2020 debut after testing positive for the coronavirus the first week of the return to spring training.
“I feel really good … understanding the time that I've had without facing hitters, you know, playing catch and doing the regular routine,” Chapman said through Yankees interpreter Marlon Abreu. “Yesterday I faced hitters for the first time and I actually felt better than expected … just being on the mound and pitching to live hitters.”
He said he expects to have another outing and then if all goes well he could be back “any time after that.”
Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake said the simulated game will be Friday and will give them a better indication of if he is ready.
“We want to give him two days and then we'll basically [evaluate] at that point just kind of where he's at and kind of figure out if he's ready to rejoin [the team] or if he wants another [simulated game],” Blake said Wednesday afternoon. “So we're getting close to just kind of wanting to go through the necessary precautions, as we get down the stretch here and not rushing back.”
Chapman feels healthy. He said that the only symptom of COVID-19 he experienced was the loss of smell and taste. He said his family is also fine.
He was able to do his usual rigorous physical workouts during the quarantine and was even able to simulate throwing with what he called a pitching sock. It's a contraption that locks onto a pitcher's hand and allows them to go through the delivery and release, but the ball is contained.
Chapman had originally cleared the intake testing after arriving in New York from his home in Miami, but a few days later after working out at Yankee Stadium tested positive.
“I don't know how or where I contracted the virus,” Chapman said. “I was being careful, doing what I was supposed to be doing, you know, coming to the stadium and going home. So I don't have an answer for that.”
Chapman had been around the team for about three or four days before the positive test and he was concerned for his teammates.
“Of course you worry for your teammates, you understand the situation you're in and although we have a lot of protocols that we follow and we try to do the best we can to keep our distance, you've still gotta, you still got to train you got to get your work done, working in the gym working with other people,” Chapman
said. “So following those things … I talked to a lot of my teammates that didn't know what was going on and just to kind of give them a heads up.”
HAPP IN LIMBO
Tuesday night would have been J.A. Happ's turn in the rotation to pitch, but instead the Yankees went with Jordan Montgomery. Pitching coach Matt Blake said it is in an attempt to try and get them both on some kind of routine in this irregular season.
“Obviously, anytime we're deciding between our own guys it's obviously a tricky decision. We'd passed Monty over the first time to give J.A. the start and felt like just (we) just want to give Monty a chance to get in rhythm and we'll get J.A. back in the rotation coming up here,” Blake said. “Between the two of them it's been a challenge to get them into a regular routine on five or six days with the off days and the two day break in Philly and things of that nature. So you know to expect J.A. to be sharp when he's pitching on nine days rest or seven days rest hasn't been necessarily fair. But I think that's the big thing is just getting these guys into a rhythm where they can repeat the delivery and execute their pitches to their game plan.”
Still, there is no set date for Happ's next start and Blake said they are not going to have him pitch out of the bullpen.
“He's not gonna pick you out of the bullpen today,” Blake said. “We'll do an extended kind of bullpen today just to kind of continue to work on those things before the game and just trying to kind of keep them in like a semi regular routine. Obviously it's not ideal here with the extended break but rather than having to try and pitch out of the pen, which I wouldn't think that was fair. We haven't set the day, but obviously next turn through there's no off days, he'll definitely pitch there and (Yankees manager Aaron Boone) and I probably get through today and then figure out the lay of the land.”