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Sweeny: Yankees Are A Lot Better With Chapman, But There Are Risks

By Sweeny Murti
» More Columns

OXON HILL, Md. (CBSNewYork) -- Everything involving Aroldis Chapman and the Yankees over the last 12 months has turned out about as well as they could have hoped.

Now comes the hard part.

The Yankees gave up very little in prospect cost to get Chapman from the Reds a year ago, got a king's ransom from the Cubs when they traded him last July, and paid a small fortune to sign him back -- $86 million for the next five years.

Chapman makes the Yankees better. Let's not even argue about that. We saw him in action last year and then we watched him help the Cubs win the World Series. He will still be striking out hitters at a high rate for a pretty long time because 103 mph isn't ordinary. And sometimes it's even faster.

But the same issue -- the domestic violence case -- that began the chain of events that made him a Yankee last year will be attached to him for a pretty long time, too. Chapman passed every grade last year for the Yankees as they paid close attention to his makeup and his character. He knew he had to be because there was too much at stake. But Chapman was a New York Yankee for only two and a half months, when all was said and done. He came back from his suspension in early May, was traded before the end of July. He looked sad that day he was traded and spoke openly about wanting to play here again if given the chance.

The dance was long and involved the Marlins and Dodgers, too, but Chapman was true to his word and decided he wanted to play for the Yankees again. It took a lot of money to get him, more years and dollars than any reliever has gotten, and, yes, that includes Mariano Rivera.

The Yankees take on the risk now. They take on the risk that he might get hurt, just like any other pitcher. And they take on the risk that his checkered past doesn't come back to haunt him or them.

From a strictly baseball perspective, I've heard people wonder why the Yankees would spend this much on a closer when there are other needs on a team that isn't immediately ready to contend and wouldn't go the extra mile that Boston did to get a frontline starter like Chris Sale. General manager Brian Cashman explained that they don't consider themselves one player away from being a championship-caliber team, so the cost in prospects wasn't worth going after Sale. But signing Chapman and not giving up any talent to get him is different.

I've heard the value of a closer being debated, but I'm of the belief it's still important to win the games you have a chance to win. Winning the close games, winning the games you have a lead -- those are difference-makers for teams. They build team-wide confidence when they are locked down and they are demoralizing when they are not. Could the Yankees have waited to get a premier closer? Maybe, but unlike the top free agent class that is still two years away from hitting the market, the top closers were available now. Acquire the talent when it's available, which is now. And it is different from the Sale trade, because the net benefit of trading four or five of your top prospects would not provide the same return.

Dellin Betances would have been fine as the closer. I truly believe that. I don't think the way he finished the season is a true indication of how he would perform in that role on a full-time basis.

But now Betances gets to slide back to the eighth inning again and there is some comfort there I'm sure for both him and manager Joe Girardi. Betances can still help lengthen the bullpen with the occasional four- or five-out performance. Tyler Clippard gives the Yankees another formidable combination at the back end, even if they lack the fancy nickname.

But remember this -- the best pitcher in that bullpen last year was Andrew Miller. This bullpen might be good, but it won't be as good as last year's.

Please follow Sweeny on Twitter at @YankeesWFAN

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