The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Chapman deal: $86 million
Five-year contract with Yankees is richest for reliever.
Boston’s Dave Dombrowski walked up to Brian Cashman outside the room where the winter meeting draft was about to start Thursday and gave the Yankees general manager a slap on the back.
“You’re so kind to stop by and say hello to us little guys,” the New York general manager teased.
Boston made the splashiest moves at the meetings, acquiring ace Chris Sale from the White Sox and setup man Tyler Thornburg from Milwaukee while reaching a deal with free-agent first baseman Mitch Moreland.
Cashman kept positioning the Yankees for a time where New York once again will chase the biggest stars. He got back reliever Aroldis Chapman by agreeing to an $86 million, five-year contract. New York also added Matt Holliday with a $13 million, one-year agreement while not forfeiting its top draft pick next June (No. 16).
“We’re still securing talent in the present and making sure we have what we want for the future,” Cashman said.
While the AL East champion Red Sox think they are primed to capture titles now with young stars Mookie Betts and Jackie Bradley Jr. backing a pitching staff that includes Sale and Cy Young Award winners Rick Porcello and David Price, New York hasn’t won a postseason game since 2012 and has missed the playoffs in three of the last four years.
Sensing a rebuild was needed, Cashman traded Chapman to the Cubs last July for shortstop Gleyber Torres, right-hander Adam Warren and two other prospects. Torres, just 19, became the youngest MVP in Arizona Fall League history.
Now Cashman has the haul for the trade along with Chapman, whose deal is subject to a successful physical.
“I wish that somebody else would have made him a better offer so he would have gone somewhere else,” Dombrowski said.
Chapman, who turns 29 in February, also was pursued by Miami, which offered a back-loaded contract. His deal with New York, the richest for a reliever, calls for an $11 million signing bonus, of which $1 million is payable this year and $5 million in each of the next two years, and annual salaries of $15 million. He has an opt out after 2019 and a full no-trade provision for the first three years.
Rangers: Third base coach Tony Beasley was declared cancer-free after missing much of the past season during chemotherapy.
Red Sox: Utility infielder Josh Rutledge returned to Boston in the Rule 5 draft, selected off the Triple-A roster of Colorado.
Bradley Beal scored 26 points as Washington took advantage of Denver’s seasonhigh 29 turnovers and overcame a 14-point deficit.
DeMar DeRozan led Toronto with 27 points, and Kyle Lowry finished with 25 points and 11 assists. Ersan Ilyasova, with 23 points, led five Philadelphia players who scored in double figures. Ilyasova also had eight rebounds. Toney Douglas’ two free throws with 0.5 seconds remaining gave Memphis the victory. Marc Gasol had 36 points for the Grizzlies. Stephen Curry scored 26 points and Kevin Durant added 21 for Golden State (20-3). Late
Memphis signed general manager Chris Wallace and executive vice presidents John Hollinger and Ed Stefanski to multiyear contract extensions.
Tyson Chandler played in his 1,000th game Wednesday night, the 122nd NBA player to reach that milestone. Twenty-seven players played one of their 1,000 games as a Sun, but only three hit No. 1,000 in a Phoenix uniform — Chandler, Danny Ainge and Steve Nash.