As it can still summon Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller to settle things in the eighth and ninth innings of games, NY is not noticeably more mediocre this evening than it was in the morning.
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The Cubs paid a steep price, parting with top shortstop prospect Gleyber Torres as part of Monday’s five-player deal.
Fielder got a second opinion Monday, and general manager Jon Daniels says Dr.
“This was an easy call and this was the right call”.
The Dodgers previous year 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.
It also is a distinct possibility that the Yankees could re-sign Chapman in the offseason, unless the Cubs lock him up before he hits the market.
Chicago’s Torres, who is just 19, is the No. 27 ranked Baseball America prospect playing in the minor leagues according to the company’s midseason rankings that were just released.
McKinney is now at Double-A, and he was acquired by the Cubs from Oakland in the Addison Russell trade in 2014.
The 21-year-old McKinney is hitting.252 with one homer, 31 RBIs and a.677 OPS in 88 games at Double-A Tennessee this season.
Chapman is joining a Cubs team that has baseball’s best record at 59-38. Torres immediately becomes one of their best prospects, if not their best. Torres, a shortstop, and McKinney, an outfielder, are considered to be among some of the best of the Cubs’ loaded farm system; Warren was a crucial swingman for the Yankees in his first three Major League Baseball seasons before getting traded to Chicago last December for Starlin Castro. Like actually going for it this year.
Warren, who Chicago acquired from the Yankees a year ago for Starlin Castro has an ERA of 5.91 this season in 35 innings of action.
Chicago acquired lefty reliever Mike Montgomery from the Seattle Mariners earlier in the week, leading some to believe a move for Chapman was no longer on the table. He also made two starts for Triple-A Iowa, posting a 4.15 ERA (8.2IP, 4ER) without recording a decision. He has shown success out of the bullpen and in a starting rotation, so he is very versatile.
But there is no doubting the talent of the 28-year-old Chapman, who went 3-0 with a 2.01 ERA and 20 saves in 31 games with NY. In his career, Chapman is averaging 15.2 strikeouts per nine innings pitched.
So Chapman really hasn’t made much of a difference.
If I were the Yankees, I’d be content with getting only Torres back in a deal for Chapman, but they somehow got even more talent.
This is quite a coup for the Yankees for a player that the Cubs may not have beyond these next three months on their roster. Often, it is pride and emotion and stubbornness that guides their hand, and the ingrained belief, however misguided, that true Yankees never give up and that any season in which they are not in contention for something is nothing but a failure.
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Anthony Swarzak is coming on, and had a strong outing in last Tuesday’s win over Baltimore. They have put together an offense that can outscore most opponents and a bullpen that can shut down opponents late in games.
