Yankees' Aroldis Chapman Returns From Elbow Injury

NEW YORK — When Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman was placed on the injured list with left elbow inflammation, there were immediate concerns regarding the severity of the injury.

Just 11 days later, however, the left-hander is back on the active roster, set to rejoin New York's ravaged bullpen.

Chapman, along with first baseman Anthony Rizzo, were reinstated on Wednesday prior to New York's series finale against the Red Sox in the Bronx.

The closer was placed on the 10-day injured list on August 7 (retroactive to the day prior). Manager Aaron Boone assured right away that the injury wasn't particularly serious, something that could be nipped in the bud with a few days of no throwing.

Looking back, Boone was pleased with how the team handled the left-hander's injury.

"I think we just took the conservative approach of just giving it a few days to kind of calm down and I think that probably served him and us well," Boone said Wednesday. "Feel good about where he's at coming out of his bullpen the other day and really over the last few weeks before that, felt like he was settling back into being the Chappie we know."

The #Yankees optioned Jonathan Davis and Brody Koerner to Triple-A to make room for Anthony Rizzo and Aroldis Chapman on the active roster.
— Max Goodman (@MaxTGoodman) August 18, 2021

Even with Chapman's brutal stretch leading up to the All-Star Game—posting a 22.24 ERA over nine appearances from early June to July 4—the left-hander is still having a solid season.

Chapman has a 3.63 ERA over 39.2 innings pitched, closing out 23 games. Since that historically bad stretch a few months ago, Chapman had only permitted one earned run to score across 11 innings pitched, striking out 19 in that span.

While Chapman was on the IL, New York was forced to get creative while filling the flamethrower's shoes. In fact, over the Yankees' last six wins (since August 11 in Kansas City), five different pitchers have recorded a save. That includes Zack Britton, Albert Abreu, Wandy Peralta, Chad Green and Jonathan Loaisiga.

Follow Max Goodman on Twitter (@MaxTGoodman), be sure to bookmark Inside The Pinstripes and check back daily for news, analysis and more.