Aroldis Chapman has thrown his last pitch as a Yankee.
The Yankees announced on Monday they have sent Chapman to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for top prospect Gleyber Torres, Adam Warren, Billy McKinney and Rashad Crawford.
The trade comes after weeks of speculation over whether the Yankee front office would choose to sell at the August 1st non-waiver trade deadline. The sale of Chapman, who is due to become a free agent at season’s end, is the first indication that the 50-48 Yankees have chosen to become sellers.
As the return, the acquisition of Torres appears to be a coup for the Yankees. The 19-year-old ranked #34 on Baseball Prospectus’ midseason Top 50 prospect list and has posted a .275/.359/.433 line in 409 plate appearances at High-A Myrtle Beach so far in 2016. He ranked similarly on both Baseball America and Keith Law’s midseason prospect lists, at numbers 27 and 26, respectively.
Here’s what the 2016 Baseball Prospectus annual said about Torres:
Profiled as an above-average defender heading into the season, Torres continued to build on the hopes that he can hit as well. If he gets there, it’ll be on the strength of an above-average hit tool rather than power, which will likely be of the more gap-to-gap variety. When you’re scouting his stat line, remember the following key considerations: age relative to level, position and the fact that you really shouldn’t be scouting his stat line. Torres is still several years from the majors and, like every Cubs position-player prospect, he’s blocked. Still, there’s plenty of time during which the middle-infield logjam could resolve itself through injury, ineffectiveness, trade or wanderlust.
McKinney, a first-round pick in 2013, is an outfield prospect currently hitting .252 with a homer and 31 RBIs at Double A. Here’s the book comment on him:
McKinney finally broke into Double-A after a season and a half in High-A, and his showing in Tennessee was solid. The former Oakland farmhand has done well to revive expectations that he could contribute to the Cubs as an all-around outfielder, one of those OBP-and-doubles-power types that, especially without basestealing, isn’t the sexiest player on the roster but is a valuable member of the team. A midseason promotion in 2016 is probably the most aggressive possibility, and with Jason Heyward now anchoring one outfield spot, there shouldn’t be any real rush on McKinney.
The Yankees acquired Chapman from Cincinnati in December in exchange for four minor leaguers—third baseman Eric Jagielo, infielder Tony Renda and right-handers Rookie Davis and Caleb Cotham. At the time of the trade, Chapman was under investigation by MLB for a domestic violence incident that occurred earlier in the offseason. He was ultimately suspended for the first 30 games of the 2016 season.
Chapman had pitched well for New York this season since returning from the suspension, posting a 2.01 ERA with 44 strikeouts in 31 and 1/3 innings and converting 20 of 21 save opportunities.
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