Cubs Acquire Aroldis Chapman, Shipping Gleyber Torres, Others To Yankees
(CBS) The Cubs have made a blockbuster move in their pursuit of a championship this season.
Chicago on Monday officially acquired closer Aroldis Chapman from the New York Yankees. In exchange, the Cubs sent top shortstop prospect Gleyber Torres, right-hander Adam Warren, Double-A outfielder Billy McKinney and Class-A outfielder Rashad Crawford back to the Yankees.
Chapman is expected to join the Cubs in time for Tuesday evening's game against the White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field. The teams open a four-game series Monday night.
Chapman, 28, has a 2.01 ERA and 0.89 WHIP this season while converting 20 of 21 save chances. He's struck out 44 batters in 31 1/3 innings, consistently hitting 104 and 105 mph on the radar gun in recent outings. Foes are batting .179 against him, with a .233 on-base percentage. For his career, Chapman has allowed a .157 batting average.
Chapman was suspended for the first 30 games under MLB's new domestic violence policy following an incident with his girlfriend last year. No charges were filed in the case.
Chapman released a statement through the Cubs addressing the incident.
"As you know, earlier this year I accepted and served a 30-game suspension from Major League Baseball resulting from my actions of October 30, 2015," Chapman said. "I regret that I did not exercise better judgment and for that I am truly sorry. 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. Out of respect for my family, I will not comment any further on this matter.
"I cannot wait to take the mound at Wrigley Field and look forward to helping my teammates deliver a championship to Chicago."
Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts also commented on the issue, saying he and executives Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer discussed it with Chapman before agreeing to the trade.
"Obviously, we are aware of the circumstances surrounding Aroldis Chapman's suspension earlier this season," Ricketts said. "We are also aware that he cooperated fully with the league investigation and takes responsibility for his actions.
"Today, prior to completing the trade, Theo, Jed and I spoke with Aroldis. I shared with him the high expectations we set for our players and staff both on and off the field. Aroldis indicated he is comfortable with meeting those expectations.
"Finally, my family, this team and Major League Baseball take the issue of domestic violence very seriously and support efforts to reduce domestic violence through education, awareness and intervention."
Chapman is a rental for the Cubs, as he'll be a free agent at season's end. His agent has indicated that Chapman is looking forward to hitting the open market rather than signing any sort of extension before then. With Chapman's addition, it's expected that right-hander Hector Rondon will shift from his closer's role to being a setup man.
The 19-year-old Torres is hitting .275 with nine homers, 47 RBIs and a .791 OPS in 94 games at advanced Class-A Myrtle Beach this season. He has a highly regarded future, as many outlets rate him as a top-30 prospect in baseball, but his path to the big leagues was murky with the Cubs, who have 22-year-old Addison Russell at shortstop, veteran Ben Zobrist under contract for three more years at second base and 23-year-old infielder Javier Baez in the mix as well.
Warren is 3-2 with a 5.91 ERA and 1.43 WHIP this season. The Cubs acquired him in an offseason trade in which they sent infielder Starlin Castro to the Yankees.
The 21-year-old McKinney is hitting .252 with one homer, 31 RBIs and a .677 OPS in 88 games at Double-A Tennessee this season.
The 22-year-old Crawford is hitting .255 with three homers, 30 RBIs and a .713 OPS in 83 games at advanced Class-A Myrtle Beach. The Cubs took him in the 11th round of the 2012 draft.