Cubs acquire Aroldis Chapman

The Chicago Cubs acquired hard-throwing reliever Aroldis Chapman in a trade with the New York Yankees on Monday, giving the NL Central leaders a boost as they try for their first World Series title in more than a century.

The Cubs paid a steep price, parting with top shortstop prospect Gleyber Torres and versatile pitcher Adam Warren in the four-player package going to the Yankees. Chapman also faced a domestic violence allegation in the offseason that cost him a 29-game suspension, and the lefthander is eligible for free agency after this year.

But there is no doubting the talent of the 28-year-old Chapman, who went 3-0 with a 2.01 ERA and 20 saves in 31 games with New York. He threw a 105.1 mph fastball to Baltimore’s J.J. Hardy last Monday night, matching the fastest since Major League Baseball began tracking speeds in 2008.

With lefty-batting sluggers Bryce Harper of Washington and Brandon Belt of San Francisco possibly looming in the playoffs, the addition of Chapman gives manager Joe Maddon one of the majors’ top assets when in need of a late strikeout.

“Obviously, we are aware of the circumstances surrounding Aroldis Chapman’s suspension earlier this season,” Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts said. “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.”

New York had won six of eight heading into Monday night’s game at Houston, but it still faces long odds of getting to the playoffs. inquiry and witnesses.” Those other players all of them linebackers provided the league with sworn affidavits, but the NFL wants to interview them in person.

In stark contrast, Manning, who retired a month after Denver’s 24-10 win over Carolina in Super Bowl 50, welcomed the probe.

In December, AlJazeera reported that an intern at an Indianapolis anti-aging clinic was secretly recorded suggesting that Manning’s wife received deliveries of HGH in 2011 while the quarterback was recovering from neck fusion surgery. The intern, Charles Sly, recanted his statements, which were recorded without his knowledge. He said they were fabricated in an attempt to impress a potential business partner.

WNBA

WNBA RESCINDS FINES » WNBA President Lisa Borders says she hopes that rescinding the fines the league imposed over black warmup shirts worn in solidarity for shooting victims will lead to a fresh start on social activism for the players and their union.

“I would tell you in reflection, recognizing that we were at an impasse, we needed to move forward in the future,” she said Monday in a phone interview with The Associated Press. “In order to do that, stop what you’re doing currently, take a breath and re-engage. Rescinding the fines allowed us to do that, along with the Olympic break.”

It had been a tense week for the WNBA and its players after the league decided to impose $500 fines on three teams for wearing the black warmup shirts in response to recent shootings by and against police officers, saying the shirts were a uniform violation. The fines seemed to galvanize the players, who used postgame interview sessions and social media to voice their displeasure.

MLB

PRINCE FIELDER TO MISS SEASON » Texas Rangers slugger Prince Fielder is expected to have seasonending neck surgery for the second time in three years.

Fielder got a second opinion Monday, and general manager Jon Daniels says Dr. Drew Dossett recommended surgery. That was the same as Dr. Robert Watkins in Los Angeles said last week after an MRI showed a herniation between Fielder’s C4 and C5 disks.