Chapman: Marlins' instability led me to reject their offer

A reputation for shaking things up may have cost the Miami Marlins a chance at Aroldis Chapman.

After finalizing his five-year, $86-million deal with the New York Yankees on Friday, Chapman admitted to reporters during a conference call Friday he had rejected a backloaded contract offer from the Marlins that didn't contain a no-trade clause. That future uncertainty led him back to the Bronx.

"The Marlins were close on signing me, but at the end my wish was to come back to the Yankees," he said through a translator, according to The Associated Press. "I also wanted to be part of a young team, like the Yankees have now, and not go to the Marlins, because as you all know from time to time they change their team a lot, and I wanted to have a stable team of young players where I could feel at home."

Reports surfaced earlier in December that the Marlins offered Chapman a contract worth $87 million before he signed with New York, though it's unclear if Miami's deal was also for five years.

His decision to return to the Yankees is also a way of thanking the franchise for its assistance during his suspension for violating baseball's domestic violence policy last offseason.

According to Chapman, he and his girlfriend, Cristina Barnea, had an argument before he was pushed down by her brother. Later, while locked in his garage following the incident, he fired eight shots into the wall. Though no criminal charges were laid, he was suspended for the first 29 games of the 2016 season, but the Yankees continued to support him.

"I was coming to this team with a problem, and the way they treated me, the way they welcomed me, the way that they helped me, starting from the manager, the staff, my teammates, they made me feel at home," Chapman said. "That kind of support, it's something that you need in a moment like that."