On Wednesday night, the New York Yankees have inked closer Aroldis Chapman on a five-year, $86 million contract.
Let’s be honest, we all saw this coming.
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports has reported that the New York Yankees have signed Aroldis Chapman to a five-year, $86 million contract.
The deal destroys Mark Melancon’s record of $62 million given to a relief pitcher.
Chapman, who struck out 12.6 batters per nine innings with the Yankees before being traded to Chicago, owns the most strikeouts (617) among major league baseball relievers since 2011.
He was acquired in the offseason of 2015 from the Cincinnati Reds for Rookie Davis, Eric Jagielo, Caleb Cotham and Tony Renda. In the deal that sent him to Chicago, New York obtained their top infield prospect, Gleyber Torres.
Dellin Betances will likely fall back to his usual setup role, and allow the southpaw who owns the third-most saves over the last five years (182) to take over as the closer.
Tune into ESNY for the latest buzz, rumors or breaking news as this year’s offseason progresses.
