OAKLAND — Yankees reliever Aroldis Chapman has an infection in his leg after getting a new tattoo and is heading to the injured list. Chapman had not appeared in a game since Aug. 19 against the Blue Jays.
“It hasn’t been non-pitch the last couple of days, he’s got an infection in his leg right now. So we were hoping ... to take care of it the last couple of days,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said before Saturday night’s game against the A’s at the Coliseum. “It’s still significant enough from a tattoo that he recently got, he got a pretty bad infection in there. So, he was actually at the hotel yesterday. He’s still back at the hotel now. So we’re treating him with medicine, antibiotics and things like that.”
Chapman has struggled since the middle of last season. The 34-year-old has the highest ERA (4.70) and walk rate (16.2) and the lowest strikeout rate (25.7) of his career. He lost the closer role after getting nine saves this season and the Yankees are still trying to get him back on track.
Boone said Chapman got the new tattoo either Tuesday or Wednesday and it started to bother him after they arrived here in Oakland. The Yankees expect Clay Holmes to come off the injured list on Monday, so they were not making a roster move on Saturday. There was a possibility a move comes on Sunday depending on how much pitching they used Saturday.
It’s an unusual injury and Boone said he didn’t think it was risky behavior during the season.
“I don’t have tattoos. I don’t know. So, I mean, that’s a personal choice ... usually a pretty safe thing to deal with,” Boone said. “This is more of an unfortunate situation that it has turned into an infection. My focus is on trying to get him right and healthy.”
Chapman was seen by the A’s doctor and did not require a hospital visit. Boone is hopeful he will be back this season.
“Hopefully he’s good in several days. We can backdate this a few days. But we got to get our arms around it and get the infection out of there, because it’s gotten a little bit worse over the last two days,” Boone said.
