Yankees bolster bullpen with Chapman trade
After spending much of this off-season watching from the dugout, the Yankees made their most significant off-season splash on Monday night as they traded four minor-leaguers for Cincinnati Reds closer Aroldis Chapman.
A 27-year-old lefty flamethrower, Chapman is quite simply the hardest throwing pitcher in MLB history. Need proof? Of the 50 fastest pitches thrown in MLB in 2015, Chapman accounted for all 50 of them, all of which are above 102 MPH.
On paper, the trade automatically gives the Yankees the most dominant bullpen in baseball. Chapman is considered one of the best closers in MLB, having converted 69 of 74 save opportunities over the last two seasons. The southpaw posted a 2.00 ERA in 2014 before lowering that figure to 1.63 in 2015.
Adding Chapman to a bullpen that already features Andrew Miller and Dellin Betances creates a power ‘pen for the Yankees that also helps lighten the load on the starting rotation. Considering the Yankees’ unpredictable yet talented rotation of starters, the extra bullpen depth lessens the need for guys like Tanaka, Pineda, Eovaldi and Sabathia to go 6 or 7 innings every outing.
However, this trade is far from perfect. In October, Chapman was accused of choking his girlfriend and firing eight gunshots into the garage of his Miami-area home. The news of this incident killed trade talks between the Reds and Dodgers in November, and MLB is yet to announce his pending punishment.
Furthermore, Chapman only has one year remaining on his current contract, which expires after the 2016 season. This fact combined with the afore-mentioned domestic abuse accusations, are key reasons why the Yankees didn’t surrender any of their elite prospects in the trade with Cincinnati.
Of the four NYY minor-leaguers traded to the Reds, only two were ranked in the Top 15 of the Yankees’ farm system. Therefore, the Yankees were able to trade for a talent like Chapman without giving up any of their top young talent (Greg Bird, Luis Severino, Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez, Jorge Mateo).
At the same time, there is obvious inherent risk involved for the Yankees. If all goes according to plan, the Yankees will feature the most dominant bullpen perhaps in baseball history. On the flip side, Chapman could be looking at a lengthy suspension from MLB for his domestic abuse incident.
Time will tell how this deal works out for the Yankees, but one can only be encouraged by the “buy-low” ideology in this deal, acquiring a top reliever without emptying the farm system.
One question for Yankees manager Joe Girardi: With Chapman now in the fold, how does he organize the back-end of his bullpen?
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