On one hand the New York Yankees trade for lefthander Aroldis Chapman for four minor leaguers does make sense. Fortunately, the answer to both of those questions is no. Instead, New York sent right-handers Caleb Cotham and Rookie Davis and infielders Eric Jagielo and Tony Renda to Cinncinati.
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Chapman was almost dealt to the Los Angeles Dodgers earlier in the offseason, but that deal fell apart when reports of Chapman’s involvement in an incident of domestic violence in October came to light.
More than a dozen police officers responded to Chapman’s home but no arrests were made due to insufficient evidence according to Yahoo Sports.
And so we return to MLB’s investigation, which may be the first time the league issues punishment, if any, under its new domestic-violence policy. Chapman’s stats this season had him posting a 1.63 ERA, 33 saves and 116 strikeouts. The three pitchers combined to have 212 innings pitched last season with 347 strikeouts and 14.7 strikeouts per nine innings according to Jack Curry of the YES Network.
Chapman becomes the Yankees third closer, joining Andrew Miller and Dellin Betances.
“Though there’s always a possibility Miller might be dealt to upgrade the starting rotation, “[The] intent is to have Chapman, Miller and Betances as a real force … to help us close as many games as we possibly can”, Cashman said.
The circumstances surrounding Chapman are very murky, and this is certainly not to say that what we know about them should prevent him from ever working again.
Aroldis Chapman is Broadway-bound via a trade with the Cincinnati Reds, the Yankees confirmed Monday afternoon.
In other words: This is a questionable PR move for the Yankees but also a strong baseball trade. Still, the Yanks likely felt that even if they are without one of their flamethrowers for a month and a half, the asking price was too good to pass up to reject this deal. Since leaving his native Cuba in 2009 and signing with the Reds, Chapman has 146 saves in 164 chances. Last September, when the Yankees were fighting for the division, their once-potent offense scored just 4.19 runs per game (21st in MLB) while the teams relying on young players – the Houston Astros, Chicago Cubs, Tampa Bay Rays and Red Sox – scored close to, or above, five runs per game. If he does, general manager Brian Cashman will have struck gold with the trade.
On the field, Chapman is the hardest thrower in baseball history and one of the most dominant relievers in the game. It remains to be seen if they have the team necessary to get them to the seventh inning.
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Baseball America rated Davis as the Yankees’ No. 6 overall prospect and MLBPipeline.com had him ranked No. 10.
