“I can not wait to take the mound at Wrigley Field and look forward to helping my team-mates deliver a championship to Chicago”, Chapman said via a statement from the Cubs.
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In a recent save against Baltimore, Chapman threw the five fastest pitches recorded to date by Statcast, the fastest of which registered at 105.1 miles per hour.
Theo Epstein has been aggressive ahead of the trade deadline this year.
The Rangers were supposedly expressing interest in Chapman, but they weren’t going to part with a package like the one the Cubs gave up – Torres is a top 25-30 prospect, and McKinney and Warren are very solid pieces as well.
As for the Yankees, they will get four players including the Cubs top prospect Gleyber Torres. In 38 games for the Cubs this season, Rondon is 1-2 with a 1.95 ERA with 18 saves with 48 strikeouts and only five walks over 37 innings. No arrests were made, but a police report said that Chapman fired a gun eight times in his garage, and his girlfriend alleged that Chapman pushed her and put his hands around her neck.
“Obviously, we are aware of the circumstances surrounding Chapman’s suspension earlier this season”, Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts said in a statement. NY sported one of baseball’s best reliever trios in Dellin Betances, Andrew Miller and Chapman, but the Yankees opted to retain Miller due to his longer contract.
The Cubs have struggled against left-handed hitters in late-inning situations, but Chapman, 28, has limited left-handers to a.123 batting average with one home run in 309 career at-bats against left-handers.
Chapman is a rental for the Cubs, as he’ll be a free agent at season’s end. It would not surprise me if Torres was the starting for the New York Yankees in 2018. As a result, Chapman is on the move again, and the Yankees got themselves an elite prospect. While I know the Yankees and their fans hate the thought of a rebuild, this trade should make them feel much better.
MLB.com reported that Torres, 19, was scratched from the lineup before his game Sunday at Class A Advanced Myrtle Beach.
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The Dodgers a year ago declined to trade any top prospects when they needed to acquire starting pitching, resulting in a deal for Alex Wood and Mat Latos rather than one for David Price, Cole Hamels or Johnny Cueto.
