3 former Chicago Cubs who are failing miserably this season

Chicago Cubs: Aroldis Chapman is wildly unpopular in the Bronx right now

For the first two months of the 2021 season, Aroldis Chapman was, well, Aroldis Chapman. He was lights-out, pairing a wipeout slider with a triple-digit fastball, locking things down in the ninth for the New York Yankees.

If you’re looking for someone who had as bad a month of June as the Chicago Cubs, though, look no further. Following the crackdown on foreign substances, Chapman’s spin rate has plummeted and hitters have taken advantage of this, pounding him to the tune of an 1.158 OPS last month.

The left-hander made 11 appearances, allowing 14 hits in 8 2/3 innings of work. His strikeout rate was basically half of what it was back in April, when he was his typical dominant self. Yankees fans are irate – to the point that Chapman actually made his Instagram profile private after his latest implosion on the mound.

Of course, the Cubs traded for Chapman during the 2016 season and Joe Maddon proceeded to squeeze every last drop out of his left arm, knowing full well he wasn’t coming back via free agency. New York faithful, to this day, point to that as what ‘ruined’ the southpaw, who re-signed with the Yankees the next winter.