NEW YORK — Yankees reliever Aroldis Chapman has been ruled out for the American League Division Series after he skipped a mandatory workout, leading to a fine and likely ending the All-Star’s seven-year tenure with New York.

The 34-year-old flamethrower probably would not have been on the 26-man roster for the best-of-five series against Cleveland that starts Tuesday night due to erratic performances and inconsistent mechanics.

Chapman, who has not gotten a save since May 17, had been scheduled to pitch batting practice Friday at Yankee Stadium but the team said he instead was in Miami. After speaking with Chapman, Manager Aaron Boone told General Manager Brian Cashman he instructed the pitcher to stay away from the club.

“I think he questioned whether he was going to be on the roster or not,” Boone said.

Chapman had disrupted an already depleted bullpen when he went on the injured list from Aug. 24 until Sept. 16 due to an infection in a leg caused by getting a tattoo.

“It’s unfortunate that he wasn’t here Friday,” Cashman said Sunday. “Clearly disappointing, but at the same time not surprised by how things are starting to play out over the course of the season. So it was surprising at first, like a little shocking, but then after the shock wore off, when you add everything up, it’s not surprising. There’s some questions about whether he’s been all in or not for a little while, and he’s maintained verbally that he’s in, but at times actions don’t match those words.”

Cashman, who has worked for the Yankees since 1986, could not recall another player missing a workout. In October 2015, Mets pitcher Matt Harvey missed a workout three days before his team’s Division Series opener.

Chapman’s agent, Scott Shapiro, said he and his client had no comment. While the Yankees did not rule out Chapman for later rounds, they left the impression his return is unlikely.

In other news, Matt Carpenter likely will be on the roster as a pinch hitter/designated hitter after recovering from a broken left foot sustained Aug. 8. Outfielder Andrew Benintendi remains a long shot following surgery to repair a broken bone in his right wrist. Reliever Clay Holmes will be on the roster but might not be available for the opener as he returns from a Sept. 29 cortisone injection to treat inflammation in his right rotator cuff.

Infielder DJ LeMaheiu’s status had not been determined as he tries to overcome an inflamed right second toe that limited him to 18 plate appearances after Sept 4.

Gerrit Cole will start for the Yankees in Tuesday night’s opener, followed by Nestor Cortes in Game 2 and Luis Severino in Game 3. Boone is leaning toward a three-man rotation against the AL Central champion Guardians, who swept two games from Tampa Bay in the first round. Jameson Taillon and Domingo Germán will work out of the bullpen.

•Cashman realizes Aaron Judge struck gold with his record-setting season, raising the price for the New York Yankees to keep their star slugger.

In the hours before Opening Day last April, Judge rejected a contract that would have paid him $213.5 million over seven seasons from 2023-29. He is eligible for free agency and will command far more after setting an American League record with 62 homers, tying for the major league lead with 131 RBIs and just missing a Triple Crown with a .311 batting average.

“There’s a pot of gold there,” Cashman, the Yankees general manager, said Sunday ahead of the Division Series against Cleveland. “It’s yet to be determined what the gold — how much it weighs — but it’s a pot of gold, no doubt about it. So good for him. It was already a big pot and, obviously, it’ll be bigger.”

Judge was drafted by the Yankees in 2013 and homered in his first big league at-bat three years later. The 30-year-old Californian has become the post-Derek Jeter face of the Yankees, a four-time All-Star with 220 home runs over seven seasons and a fan favorite recognizable for his 6-foot-7, 282-pound frame and ever-present smile.

“He’s put himself in an amazing position to have a lot of choices,” Cashman said. “And clearly, obviously, we’d like to win the day on that discussion, and that’s obviously for another day. But we said that before the season. We said that many times during the season. If you need to hear it again. I’ll say it again: Yeah, of course we love to have Aaron Judge back as New York Yankee, but that’s all for another day.”

Judge had a $19 million salary this season in a one-year contract that avoided an arbitration hearing. He would not negotiate a long-term deal during the season.

“I’ve been vocal about I want to be a Yankee for life,” Judge said before the opener. “I want to bring a championship back to New York. I want to do it for the fans here. They’re family. This is home for me, and not getting that done right now, it stinks. … At the end of the year, I’m a free agent. I can talk to 30 teams and the Yankees will be one of those 30 teams.”

New York can negotiate terms with Judge exclusively through the first 15 days after the World Series. After that, all teams can bid.

BLUE JAYS: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. looked to Hollywood to lift the spirits of Toronto fans after the Blue Jays finished one win shy of a postseason berth in 2021.

“What we did last year was a trailer,” Guerrero said through a translator at spring training. “Now you guys are going to see the movie.”

Unfortunately for Guerrero and Toronto, that movie turned into a horror show come playoff time.

The Blue Jays were swept out of their AL wild-card series against Seattle, dropping each of the two games. They were shut down by Luis Castillo in a 4-0 loss in the opener, and then blew an 8-1 lead in a 10-9 loss on Saturday.

“It’s really hard,″ said Teoscar Hernández, who homered twice and drove in four runs for Toronto in Game 2. “There’s nothing I can say that’s going to make me feel better for a while.”

Toronto has lost five straight playoff games and eight of nine, dating to a five-game loss to Cleveland in the 2016 ALCS. The Blue Jays also were swept by Tampa Bay in the 2020 wild-card round.

Interim manager John Schneider went 46-28 after replacing Charlie Montoyo in July as Toronto finished one win better than the previous season to clinch the top AL wild-card spot. But when the playoffs arrived, the Blue Jays couldn’t deliver.

Even amid the pain of postseason defeat, Schneider pointed to consecutive 90-win seasons and a strong core of stars as reason for optimism.

“This group will be back in the exact same spot very, very soon,” Schneider said.

Besides Guerrero and shortstop Bo Bichette, the AL hits leader, Toronto also could bring back outfielder George Springer, third baseman Matt Chapman and Hernández. Right-handers Alek Manoah and Kevin Gausman are expected to help anchor the rotation.

CARDINALS: Magic was happening on a chilly Saturday night in St. Louis, where the Cardinals were trailing the Philadelphia Phillies in a do-or-die Game 2 of their National League wild-card series, and Albert Pujols was stepping up to the plate.

He rapped a clean base hit in the final at-bat of his career.

The Cardinals failed to push across the run in the eighth inning, though, when MVP candidates Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado struck out. The game pressed on to the ninth. And suddenly there was more magic in the making as Yadier Molina came to bat with a runner on base, two outs and the NL Central champions still trailing by two runs.

He also rapped a clean single in the final at-bat of his career.

And then the magic was over.

Tommy Edman fouled out against Philadelphia closer Zach Eflin, sending the precocious Phillies spilling onto the field in a wild celebration. The Cardinals slowly slipped away, through their dugout and back to the clubhouse, the season — and an entire era in St. Louis baseball — having ended in a 2-0 loss and two-game series sweep.

“You know, it’s something that it’s not even next week,” Pujols said later, when asked when the finality of his superlative career would set in. “It’ll take a couple of months to realize, and knowing the great team we have and the great chance we had this year to hopefully bring a championship — and it didn’t happen.”

Pujols did just about everything he could this season, going on a second-half tear reminiscent of his first decade-plus with the Cardinals. It energized the city in the same way that Mark McGwire’s home run chase once did, and when Pujols finally eclipsed 700 career homers, all that was left was to make a deep postseason run.

That he was doing it alongside Molina and longtime teammate Adam Wainwright — well, it seemed downright poetic.

Right up until the last out on Saturday night.

“It was a great season,” Molina said. “I mean, a great season, for everybody here in the clubhouse, for all the moments, the memories — the good memories. It was fun to watch Albert come back and do his thing. It was fun.”

Pujols maintained his typical, reserved demeanor as he stood in front of his locker for the final time after a 23-year career, one that rewarded him with two World Series rings and three MVP awards.

But the hardscrabble Molina began to let his emotions show, even appearing to choke back tears while describing the past 19 years.

“Just to be around the teammates, to be in this clubhouse, fighting for and winning games, I mean, that’s what I’m going to miss most,” he said, adding of Pujols: “I’m going to be his brother forever.”

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