Yankees must sort out bullpen, Aroldis Chapman, before October

The Yankees had to show some cracks at some point on the field, and it’s impossible not to look at their suddenly shaky bullpen as the first real crack amid their juggernaut-level start to the 2022 season.

The treble in Sunday’s doubleheader loss to the White Sox by Aroldis Chapman and Jonathan Loaisiga respectively, costing them late in each loss, and the loss of reliable right right Chad Green to Tommy John’s surgery shows just how much of a success the Yankees could depend on a bullpen unit previously considered the undisputed team strength.

With Clay Holmes and Michael King emerging as largely untouchable medium-relief arms, it seems the Yankees have internal cover to make up for the loss of Green, who threw the most bullpen innings of any pinstripe relief — and with tremendous Quality (1,022 career WHIP) — since 2016.

The far bigger question is whether the Yankees can ever be considered heavy favorites to return to the World Series and win it for the first time since 2009 with the talented but inconsistent Chapman as the closer.