The Yankees have a new face and a fresh arm in the bullpen tonight: Aroldis Chapman‘s. He was reinstated today from his 30-game suspension stemming from a domestic violence dispute. But, in order for Chapman to make his highly anticipated debut, reliever Johnny Barbato was the sacrificial lamb from the 25-man roster. Making room for Chapman, this afternoon, Barbato packed his bags and boarded the Scranton Shuttle to the New York Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate’s complex.
During Barbato’s spring stint in the Bronx, he appeared in action 12 times (1-2, 10 hits, 8 earned runs, 13 innings, 5.54 ERA). But, as of recent, opponents were batting .296 against him. While the primary reason he was optioned to Triple-A was to make room for Chapman, according to reports, pitching coach Larry Rothschild challenged Barbato, telling him to “find consistency with his slider“. Today, 23-year-old Barbato told reporters, “It’s just flatted out a lot,” he said. “It just has to get better — I know that. It’ll be work out fine” (NJ.com). Manager Joe Girardi had nothing but good things to say about Barbato: “Johnny did a really good job early for us, and we believe the upside for Johnny is really, really big“.
