Aroldis Chapman: ‘I Would Love To Be A Yankee Again’

The New York Yankees seem to really want Aroldis Chapman back, and the feeling is apparently mutual.

Aroldis Chapman: ‘I Would Love To Be A Yankee Again’

The left-handed Cuban closer has been yearning for a reunion with the team that traded him to the Chicago Cubs at the deadline in late July, he told NY Sports Day Tuesday.

“I would love to be a Yankee again,’’ Chapman told the website. “The organization treated me first class,” Chapman said in an interview with Ray Negron, a former Yankees employee and long-time adviser to Hank Steinbrenner. “And the fans were like no other.”

General manager Brian Cashman expressed that he would love that idea.

“We’ve said all along, we want to have him back,” Cashman said Tuesday while at an event run by longtime Yankees scout Cesar Presbott on East Tremont Avenue in The Bronx, where turkeys were distributed to local residents. “He obviously performed very well for us. We’re evaluating what our choices are and always prefer to hold onto our draft choices. That’s another aspect that makes Chapman so attractive.”

When Chapman was traded on July 25, he posted a photo on Instagram with a caption that read: “thanks to the NY Yankees fans, that from the first day, they made me feel at home. Thanks to the Yankees organization for the support they gave me.??#newyorkyankees bye for now.”

Some industry experts believe the price of a contract for Chapman, 28, could reach $100 million for five years.

“This is a business, and the Yankees know that,’’ Chapman told NY Sports Day.

The highest average annual value for a closer’s salary has been $15 million, which the Yankees paid Mariano Rivera from 2008-2012. Jonathan Papelbon’s four-year, $50 million contract with the Phillies remains the largest total deal ever given a closer.

Both Chapman and former Los Angles Dodgers Kenley Jansen, now a free agent, figure to shatter Papelbon’s total, while another free agent, former Washington Nationals right-hander Mark Melancon, could also exceed it.

Chapman was 3-0 with a 2.01 ERA in 31 games with the Yankees, with 44 strikeouts in 31 ¹/₃ innings and a fastball that reached 105 mph and awed Yankee Stadium crowds.

Sent to the Cubs for shortstop prospect Gleyber Torres, Chapman remains indebted to the Yankees for acquiring him from the Cincinnati Reds last offseason despite the fact he was facing a suspension from MLB for violating the domestic violence policy. Chapman was banned for the first 30 games of the season.

After sending Andrew Miller to the Cleveland Indians shortly after trading Chapman, the Yankees gave Dellin Betances the closer job, though Betances struggled in September.

CHICAGO, IL – OCTOBER 30: Aroldis Chapman #54 of the Chicago Cubs pitches in the seventh inning against the Cleveland Indians in Game Five of the 2016 World Series at Wrigley Field on October 30, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)