Today the New York Yankees acquired closer Aroldis Chapman from the Cincinnati Reds for four prospects.
By William Chase
Reports have broken that the New York Yankees have completed a trade with the Cincinnati Reds for recently embattled closer Aroldis Chapman (4-4, 1.63 ERA, 33/36 saves).
Going to Cincinnati are prospects Eric Jagielo, Caleb Cotham, Rookie Davis and Tony Renda.
Source: Yankees are on the verge of acquiring Aroldis Chapman from the Reds.
— Jack Curry (@JackCurryYES) December 28, 2015
The trade is big news for a couple of reasons.
For one, everyone knows what Chapman can do on a baseball diamond. The impact he brings to the Yankees, particularly their backend of the bullpen, and what it means for the starting rotation, is another factor.
In 2015, the Yankees only got 927.0 innings from their starters, ranking 12th in the AL. For what it’s worth, the defending World Series champion Kansas City Royals were last in the AL with 912.2 innings.
With Betances-Miller-Chapman, the Yankees can shorten games to six innings and boost a rotation that ddid’t give a lot of length in 2015
— Jack Curry (@JackCurryYES) December 28, 2015
While rumors have centered around whether Andrew Miller gets dealt or not, as of right now, the Yanks still have Miller. Along setup man Dellin Betances, the trio would give the Yankees among the top bullpens in all of baseball.
At least right on par with teams such as Kansas City’s — led the AL with 2.72 ERA in 2015.
The only things to sort out are bullpen roles among Betances, Miller and Chapman, which will also depend on any possible Chapman suspension, stemming from an Oct. 30 incident involving a domestic dispute with his girlfriend.
