According to ESPN, the New York Yankees have acquired All-Star closer Aroldis Chapman from the Cincinnati Reds.
Yankees Acquire Aroldis Chapman
The package of players being sent over to the Reds includes minor league pitchers Caleb Cotham and Rookie Davis as well as infielders Eric Jagielo and Tony Renada.
The Yankees were able to acquire the hard throwing reliever without parting with any of their top prospects or having to include Dellin Betances or Andrew Miller. Chapman will now join Betances and Miller in the bullpen to form one of the more dominate 7-8-9 relievers in the game.
Chapman has spent his entire career with the Reds and has gone to four straight All-Star games. Chapman is coming off his most dominant season in 2015. He pitched to a 1.63 ERA to go along with 33 saves in 66 1/3 innings last year, and will turning 28 right around the time Spring Training starts.
Earlier this offseason, Chapman was in line to be traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers, but trade talks broke off when a possible domestic incident involving Chapman and his girlfriend came to light. Although no criminal charges were filed, Chapman still faces a possible MLB suspension.
Cincinnati was looking to clean house this offseason, as they have already traded Todd Frazier to the Chicago White Sox. The off field incident with Chapman may have made the Reds more inclined to move the closer even more quickly once the trade with the Dodgers fell through.
Chapman is under contract only for the 2016 season, however, if he is suspended, the time served will not count towards his MLB Service. As a result of this, the Yankees may be in line to gain an extra year of team control.
While the Yankees parted with a number of prospects, none of the youngsters traded we’re on the Yankees top ten prospect list.
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