The Cubs paid a steep price, parting with top shortstop prospect Gleyber Torres and versatile pitcher Adam Warren, a former North Carolina star, in the four-player package going to the Yankees.
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The Chicago Cubs, looking to shore up their pitching staff for a stretch run into the playoffs, are closing in on a trade with the New York Yankees that would bring Aroldis Chapman to the Windy City, according to multiple reports. Chapman recorded 20 saves with a 3-0 record, 2.01 ERA, and 44 strikeouts in 31 1/3 innings for the Yankees in 2016.
The Yankees, of course, acquired Chapman in the off-season from the Cincinnati Reds.
“Obviously, we are aware of the circumstances surrounding Chapman’s suspension earlier this season”, Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts said in a statement.
Torres was scratched from the lineup Sunday for Chicago’s Class-A affiliate. But the Chapman trade is a pretty strong indicator that NY is intent on selling, and Nova could be the next piece that moves. The Nationals were thought to be favorites for Chapman at one point last week, but the Cubs jumped in there and stole him away. The Cubs are expected to resign Chapman once the season is over which should make this trade pretty equal for both teams.
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.
The move has been met with some controversy considering the prospects that the Cubs gave to the Yankees for Chapman and the reliever’s domestic incident this past winter.
Making 94 appearances for Advanced Single-A Myrtle Beach this season, the 19-year-old middle infielder managed a.275 batting average with nine home runs, 47 RBI and a.359 on-base percentage en route to an impressive 154 total bases.
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.
McKinney is now at Double-A, and he was acquired by the Cubs from Oakland in the Addison Russell trade in 2014.
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Warren is 3-2 with a 5.91 ERA and 1.43 WHIP this season. 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.
