Yankees' Aroldis Chapman Returns To Camp, Says He 'Never Hurt Anybody'
TAMPA, Fla. (CBSNewYork/AP) — Closer Aroldis Chapman rejoined the Yankees on Tuesday after missing one day of spring training while tending to a family matter in Miami and said he hasn't heard from Major League Baseball about possible discipline under the sport's new domestic violence policy.
Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said Monday in Arizona that he has made "additional progress" toward decisions on two of the first three cases under investigation and expects an announcement in the next couple of days. It wasn't clear if Chapman's case is among those two.
"In general, I never hurt anybody ever in my life," Chapman said through a translator Tuesday. "That's not my character or the person I am."
Chapman is under investigation for an incident at his house in Florida in October involving his girlfriend. Chapman is alleged to have fired a gun during the incident.
Prosecutors declined to file charges. Chapman said he would appeal any suspension to baseball's arbitrator.
On Monday, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said Chapman requested the day off last week and will be excused one other day before camp breaks.
Cashman added that he has no inside information about Manfred's timetable to make a decision.
"Trying to speculate about when or what would be a waste of my time and inappropriate," the GM told reporters. "He's very methodical, and they've got a great investigative team, and they're going to go through it all and make an informed decision, and we'll support whatever his decision is."
(TM and © Copyright 2016 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
