Yankees remove Chapman as closer after series of ugly outings

The New York Yankees have removed Aroldis Chapman as the team's closer after the left-hander allowed seven earned runs in his last four outings.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi told MLB.com's Bryan Hoch the discussion with Chapman about removing him from the role "went well," and the Yankees do "not necessarily" have a set closer moving forward.

Most of the damage against Chapman has come courtesy of the Boston Red Sox, who've scored five earned runs off the flame-throwing closer over the past week, including two earned runs on two hits Friday.

"My arm feels great. I think it's just a tough moment I'm going through. Eventually I'm pretty sure I'll get out of it," Chapman told reporters after Friday's outing.

Despite having Dellin Betances and David Robertson on the roster - both of whom have closing experience - Girardi told Hoch he isn't anointing either as the closer because he wants flexibility when it comes to matchups.

The 29-year-old Chapman signed a five-year, $86-million contract with New York last December. He's saved 16-of-20 games this season, while posting a career-high ERA of 4.29. The Cuban is still managing to strikeout hitters, sitting down 12.6 per nine innings.

Before coming to the Big Apple for this second stint with the club, Chapman saved 182 games in 203 opportunities. He was nearly untouchable in 2016 when he posted a 1.55 ERA split between the Yankees and Chicago Cubs, which included a strikeout rate of 14.0 per nine innings.