Getting rid of Chapman no ‘white flag’
Trading a closer, which the New York Yankees did Monday when they sent Aroldis Chapman to the Chicago Cubs, would seem to indicate New York is looking beyond this season and into its future.
It’s not what Yankees general manager Brian Cashman is thinking.
“This isn’t the white flag,” Cashman said in a conference call Monday. “This is a rearrangement.”
After winning Monday night’s series opener against the Astros at Minute Maid Park, the Yankees are 7½ games out of the AL East lead and 4½ games out of the second wild card. Cashman said his team won’t necessarily be a seller as the Aug. 1 trade deadline nears, but because of a deep bullpen that includes All-Stars Andrew Miller and Dellin Betances, they were able to trade Chapman, 28, who becomes a free agent at season’s end, without giving up on this season.
“This was an easy call, and this was the right call,” said Cashman. “Easy because we traded from an area of strength, and we are excited about the players we received for someone who obviously was only under control for two more months.”
In return for Chapman, New York receives the Cubs’ No.1-rated prospect, shortstop Gleyber Torres, as well as outfield prospects Billy McKinney and Rashad Crawford and pitcher Adam Warren. Warren pitched for the Yankees last season, posting a 3.29 ERA in 43 games, including 17 starts. But he struggled this season, compiling a 5.91 that resulted in his being sent to the minors Sunday.
The Yankees had acquired Chapman in December when they sent four middling prospects to the Cincinnati Reds after Chapman was involved in a domestic violence incident, for which MLB gave him a 30-game suspension at the start of this season.
“The first emotion I feel is just being sad that I leave this family here,” Chapman, born in Cuba, said through a translator at Minute Maid Park before leaving for Chicago.
He also said he’s excited to join the Cubs, who have the best record in the majors. Chicago’s biggest deficiency, before the trade, was its bullpen, which had gone 12-12 with a 3.83 ERA that ranked 14th in the majors as of Monday.
“This is a game changer. Aroldis Chapman is a game-changing-type pitcher in the postseason,” Cubs general manager Theo 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.”
While the Cubs are in hot pursuit of their first championship since 1908, Yankees manager Joe Girardi said the next seven days before the deadline are “very important” as to the approach his club takes. He also said the decision of whether New York will execute trades toward a playoff push isn’t his to make.
“If you get caught up in what is going on out there, and all the controversy and all the rumors, you’re going to have trouble focusing on your job,” said Yankees outfielder Carlos Beltran, who has twice been a trade rental (including with the Astros in 2004) and is a candidate to be moved again thanks to a .305 batting average, 21 home runs and 62 RBIs entering Monday.