Aroldis Chapman placed on DL with rotator cuff inflammation

One of the hottest teams in baseball will be without the best flamethrower the league has to offer for at least a few weeks.

Before the start of Sunday’s doubleheader against the Houston Astros, the New York Yankees announced they placed closer Aroldis Chapman on the 10-day disabled list with rotator cuff inflammation. There are already reports saying he could be out at least a month.

To anyone who saw Chapman’s last two outings, this news shouldn’t be too surprising. After blowing a save against the Chicago Cubs last week, he then allowed another earned run against Houston on Friday. Since the start of May, Chapman’s ERA has inflated from 0.87 to 3.55.

Though the closer does have seven saves to start the year, the Yankees won’t be scrambling without him. New York has the third-best run differential in the league at +51 and an offense that’s powered them to first place in American League East. Still, this isn’t exactly what the Yankees were hoping to deal with when they brought Chapman back on five-year, $86 million contract last offseason.

Manager Joe Girardi said right-hander Dellin Betances will take over Chapman’s duties in the interim. All things considered, it should be an easy transition for the the 29-year-old New York native. Betances has thrown 11.2 innings this season with one earned run and five hits on 22 strikeouts and nine walks. That’s held up for six holds, though he does have one blown save.

Chapman’s injury is certainly not the news New York was hoping for — and on Derek Jeter day, no less — but the Yanks should be equipped to handle it.

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Blake Schuster is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at blakeschuster@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Schustee