Cubs Aquire Star Closer Aroldis Champan
26 Jul, 2016
Before the Chicago Cubs completed a trade for Aroldis Chapman, owner Tom Ricketts and president of baseball operations Theo Epstein decided they had to hear from the closer himself about a domestic violence allegation in the offseason.
So Ricketts and Epstein asked Major League Baseball for a window to speak with the left-hander, and they got him on the phone Monday. When the conversation was over, the blockbuster deal was on.
Chasing their first World Series title since 1908, the Cubs addressed one of their few weaknesses by sending a pricey package of four players to the New York Yankees for Chapman, one of the most dominant relievers in the game, but one who also comes with some risk for a franchise riding a positive wave.
“This is a game-changer. Aroldis Chapman is a game-changing-type pitcher in the postseason,” Epstein said. “As you sit around and game plan how you’re going to win a big game or how you’re going to win a postseason game, it makes it look a lot easier when you see him there on your lineup card.”
Chapman is expected to join the Cubs for Tuesday night’s game at the crosstown White Sox.
For the Yankees, it was a rare July trade that saw the best player in the deal leaving New York. But Chapman is eligible for free agency after this season, New York also has All-Stars Andrew Miller and Dellin Betances in the bullpen, and its haul included top shortstop prospect Gleyber Torres, versatile pitcher Adam Warren and minor league outfielders Billy McKinney and Rashad Crawford.
“This was an easy call, and this was the right call,” general manager Brian Cashman said. “Easy because we traded from an area of strength and we are excited about the players that we’ve received for someone that obviously was only under control for two more months.”
The Yankees (51-48) are three games over .500 for the first time this season, but they still face long odds of getting to the playoffs. They made the decision to trade Chapman after his agents said he would not agree to a new contract that would start in 2017, a person familiar with the talks said. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because no public statement on those talks was authorized.
The 28-year-old Chapman went 3-0 with a 2.01 ERA and 20 saves in 31 games for New York. He threw a 105.1 mph fastball to Baltimore’s J.J. Hardy last week, matching the fastest since Major League Baseball began tracking speeds in 2008.
“The Cubs have been playing really good baseball,” Chapman said through a translator before he left Houston to travel to Chicago. “I think they’re probably one of the better teams in both leagues right now. They have a good rhythm right now. They’re fighting to get that ring, so it might be a good experience for me to be there.”
Chapman, who threw the 62 fastest pitches in the majors last season, was traded from Cincinnati to New York last December after a deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers fell through when it was learned Florida police investigated an accusation of domestic violence involving the Cuban pitcher.
Prosecutors declined to file charges, citing conflicting accounts, and Chapman was suspended for the first 29 games of the season, losing $1,856,557 of his $11,325,000 salary. He was the first player penalized a finite number of games under Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy.
“I regret that I did not exercise better judgment and for that I am truly sorry,” Chapman said Monday in a statement released by the NL Central-leading Cubs. “Looking back, I feel I have learned from this matter and have grown as a person. My girlfriend and I have worked hard to strengthen our relationship, to raise our daughter together, and would appreciate the opportunity to move forward without revisiting an event we consider part of our past.”
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