The Yankees and Cubs were working toward a deal Sunday night involving Aroldis Chapman and highly rated Cubs shortstop prospect Gleyber Torres, according to multiple reports. But Chapman is eligible for free agency after this season, NY also has All-Stars Andrew Miller and Dellin Betances in the bullpen, and its haul included top shortstop prospect Gleyber Torres, versatile pitcher Adam Warren and minor league outfielders Billy McKinney and Rashad Crawford.
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The Cubs are sending reliever Adam Warren along with Torres and prospect Billy McKinney in exchange for Chapman’s services.
The Cubs made it obvious they were looking to add some left-handed talent to their bullpen this season, and Chapman isn’t the first addition in that category. Hector Rondon will be moved from the closer role to the set up man role.
According to Baseball America’s recent mid-season rankings, Torres is the 27th best prospect in baseball. Chapman has 165 saves over the last five seasons with the Reds and Yankees. They traded Chapman for a discounted package as he was facing a domestic-violence investigation.
Chapman rebuilt his trade value after serving a 30-game suspension for violating baseball’s domestic violence policy. He has hit nine homers and 23 doubles in 94 games with High-A Myrtle Beach.
The 28-year-old Chapman went 3-0 with a 2.01 ERA and 20 saves in 31 games for NY. “They’re fighting to get that ring, so it might be a good experience for me to be there”.
With a 2.01 ERA and a career best 2.3 BB/9 in 2016, now is definitely the time for the Cubs to pick up the long sought after Chapman.
NY chased Samardzija in the sixth, when Ellsbury grounded into a run-scoring double play, Starlin Castro singled in a run and Didi Gregorius hit an RBI double.
Flipping Chapman for a top prospect, a reliable and versatile big-league pitcher and, in effect, Castro – who was acquired for Warren in the offseason – is a smart move by the Yankees.
On the other side of the deal, the Yankees have traded a big-league ballplayer for prospects for the first time in forever. For a Yankees deal with an aging roster, the acquisition of Chapman was a win-win – either the team performed well and they had a lockdown closer, or they could trade the powerful Cuban closer in order to help rebuild their farm system.
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The Yankees received eight quality starts in a row from their rotation of Tanaka, Ivan Nova, Nathan Eovaldi, Michael Pineda, and CC Sabathia, and have won six of their eight games.
