The Chicago Cubs acquired Aroldis Chapman on Monday from the New York Yankees.
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– Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 25, 2016 Updating: Per @Joelsherman1, #Cubs-#Yankees trade, if completed, would be Chapman for Torres, Warren and likely two others. That means that contending teams, even ones stocked with young talent like the Dodgers, will have to part with some of their best prospects for major league help in any deals they make before the August 1st MLB trade deadline.
Chapman rebuilt his trade value after serving a 30-game suspension for violating baseball’s domestic violence policy.
Aroldis Chapman certainly will secure wins for the Chicago Cubs on the field but chances are he and the team will be losing off the field in terms of morality.
But the Cubs believe Chapman, who has a 2.01 ERA and 44 strikeouts in 311/3 innings, is worth the cost and controversy surrounding him. Rookie Davis, a 23-year-old right-hander who was considered the best piece of the four, is 8-3 with a 2.68 ERA this season for the Double-A Pensacola Blue Wahoos. “There’s a lot of rumors and stuff out there right now”, Chapman said through an interpreter Sunday (via the New York Daily News).
Ivan Nova has improved his trade value in his last few stellar starts, and the New York Yankees are using that to their advantage.
In addition to Torres, the Yankees also receive pitcher Adam Warren and minor league outfielders Billy McKinney and Rashad Crawford.
The Cubs received a true difference-maker in Chapman, the flame-throwing closer the Yankees had obtained last winter from the Reds – in exchange for four mid-level prospects.
As much as I admire Theo Epstein and company, in acquiring Chapman, the Cubs made a deal for the sake of making a deal.
Chapman, who has 166 career saves with the Cincinnati Reds and Yankees, will strengthen the Cubs bullpen as they try to make a run at a World Series title.
The headliner of the Cubs-Yankees deal is Gleyber Torres, a 19-year-old shortstop Baseball America rates Chicago’s No. 1 prospect.
Said Chapman: “I regret I did not exercise better judgment and for that I am truly sorry”.
Warren was part of the deal that brought infielder Starlin Castro to NY in the off-season, shipped to the Cubs along with infielder Brendan Ryan, but faltered with his new team.
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Torres is the No. 24 prospect in baseball according to MLB.com, and has a.275 batting average with the Class-A Myrtle Beach Pelicans. Those two players, like Chapman, are eligible free agents at season’s end.
