# The big-money regrets that hang over Yankees’ bullpen rebuild

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/the-big-money-regrets-that-hang-over-yankees-bullpen-rebuild/
- Published: 2026-11-07T15:09:35+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-07T16:34:00+00:00
- Original publisher: New York Post (publisher lean: Right)
- Original article: https://nypost.com/2026/11/07/sports/the-big-money-regrets-that-hang-over-yankees-bullpen-rebuild/
- Topics: World

## Key points

- The Yankees’ extensions turned two strong relief deals into costly disappointments.
- Britton’s final two seasons brought injuries and a 6.16 ERA.
- Chapman’s added year preceded a rough finish and acrimonious departure.

## Summary

The Yankees’ previous major investments in relievers Zack Britton and Aroldis Chapman ended badly after the club extended both pitchers’ contracts. Their decisions to add money and years helped turn initially strong deals into costly disappointments, offering a cautionary backdrop as the team rebuilds its bullpen.

Britton signed a three-year, $39 million contract after the 2018 season and posted a 1.90 ERA over his first two seasons. The Yankees exercised a $14 million option for 2022, after which elbow problems and Tommy John surgery limited him to 25 appearances and a 6.16 ERA across his final two years. Chapman’s five-year, $86 million deal began after 2016; the Yankees added a season so he would give up his 2019 opt-out, and his ERA rose from 2.61 in the first three years to 3.71 in the last three, ending in a strained split.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.