Brian Cashman will be thrilled to hear this scouting report of Aroldis Chapman, especially after Joe Girardi announced Monday night the Yankees will go to spring training with Chapman as their closer.
All-Star third baseman Todd Frazier played behind the troubled lefty since 2011.
Frazier said the Yankees acquired the ultimate ninth-inning difference maker from the Reds in that late-December trade.
“He’s dominant,’’ Frazier told The Post. “He dominates every time he goes out. The guys that do hit him, it’s basically luck.’’
Imagine that.
“Chapman throws so hard and he has such a nasty slider that when he’s pitching, you feel great he’s on the mound,’’ said Frazier, who was traded from the Reds to the White Sox a month ago. “He’s an asset to the team whether it’s one inning or two. He’s going to help that team out a lot because nobody wants to see him in the ninth inning.
“If he has a one-run lead, it’s shutdown time, and if he has a lead of two runs, it’s basically game over.’’
That says it all, and Frazier knows his pitchers, going back to his days when he led Toms River East American to the Little League World Championship back in 1998.
“The whole time when a lefty is up, that’s when you have to focus the most [at third base]. A righty, it’s tough to pull,’’ Frazier said.
Frazier was the first batter to face Chapman after the Reds signed him out of Cuba in 2010.
“He hit me in the back of my knee the first pitch,’’ said Frazier, who was drafted out of Rutgers in 2007.
How much did that hurt?
“Oh man, I had a bruise the size of a pizza,’’ Frazier said. “Ninety-eight-mile-per-hour fastball in the back knee. I got him the next year, though, I hit a home run off him in spring training, so I was happy about that.’’
Frazier will have to face Chapman, who turns 28 next month, as an opponent now.
When Chapman will be available to the Yankees is not known. Chapman was the subject of a domestic violence investigation by Florida police. No charges were filed. The inquiry stems from an alleged incident involving his girlfriend at his home in October that could get Chapman suspended to start the 2016 season.
Chapman’s fastball regularly hits 100 mph, and since the start of 2014, Chapman is fourth among major-league pitchers in lowest opponent OPS with a .476 mark. The great news for the Yankees is Dellin Betances is third at .475 and Andrew Miller is No. 2 at .466. The Royals’ Wade Davis is No. 1 with a .429 mark.
As for that Yankees triple-threat trio of Chapman, Miller and Betances, Frazier said, “If I’m a starting pitcher for the Yankees, I pray I go six innings, that’s all you need. It’s an unbelievable finish, and I hope, for their sake, that none of [the three relievers] get upset about not pitching in the ninth inning — for the good of the team.
“If they do understand that, they are going to be unbelievable and it is going to be pretty special to watch.’’
Frazier, who turns 30 next month, is looking forward to a new start with the White Sox after spending his entire career with the Reds.
“I really can’t wait,’’ he said. “There are going to be a lot of new faces so I am not the only one going in there. It will take me a day or two to get to know everybody, then I will be myself. And we’ll have a fun group.’’
The Toms River crew that regularly supported Frazier when he came to New York with Cincinnati against the Mets will now have to go to The Bronx when the White Sox visit the Yankees instead.
“They like that better anyway,’’ Frazier said with a laugh.