Aroldis C🐟hapman is he🐼aded to The Bronx, and the former Cincinnati Reds closer will bring with him a 100 mile per hour fastball and significant baggage as an accused domestic abuser.
The Cuban defector, acquired by the Yankees on Monday in a bombshell trade, was🅘 involved in an alleged domestic violence incident in October that scuttled a previous trade agreement between the Reds and Dodꦡgers when it surfaced in early December.
General manager Brian Cashman said the Yankees looked into the incident 𒉰and are awaiting the outcomes of investigations by law enforcement and Major League Baseball. Chapman could face a suspension.
“To the best of our abilities, we have researched as much as we can,” Cashman said Monday afternoon on a conf꧒erence call. “We’re not a law enforcement agency… We have completed the transaction based on a lot of due diligence, so we know there’s a process th𒐪at’s playing out. It will continue to play out and the results will be whatever they will be.”
The price for the 27-year-old was four non-elite prospects: infielders Eric Jagielo and T🔥ony Renda, and right-handed pitchers Caleb Cotham an🐈d Rookie Davis.
The addition of Chapman gives the Yankees the game’s top bullpen with fellow flame-throwers Andrew Miller and Dellin Betanc♏es.
Trading Miller remains a possibility as the Yankees look to get younger this offseason, but Cashman insisted he acquired Chapman with the hopes of teaming all three relievers — though he wouldn’t say whether Miller would remain the closer.
“How it shakes out in the closer role going forward, that’s all for another dayꦆ,” Cashman said. “We’ll just have to wait and see how it shakes out.”
Including the rest of the offseason.
“I’m sure we’ll get a lot of interesting calls between now and whenever, but in terms of roster construction, cost of acquisition and all my conversations with people above, the full intent was to retain all three high-caliber arms,” said Cashman, who added he callﷺed Miller after completing the trade for Chapman to as꧃sure Miller that Cashman wasn’t looking to move him.
Miller might be needed if Chapman is sus🐻pended, which remains on the table following the alleged abuse.
, Chapman’s girlfriend told police he “choked” her and pushed her against a wall during an argument. Chapman also allegedly fi👍red eight gunshots in his garage follow🐟ing the dispute at his Miami-area home.
Chapman was not arrested, though more than a dozen officers were dispatched to the scene. The police report indicates the argument stemmed from something the woman found on Chapman’s cellphone, an🥃d she fled from Chapman to hide in the bushes.
Under the guidelines of the league’s new domestic violence policy, Chapman could be shelved. He is eligible to become a free agent following th꧋e 2016 season, but a suspension may delay ℱhis service time clock.
Cashman, who had inquired about Chapman’s availability before — including before the last season’s trade deadline — acknowledged the serious nature of the allegations. Still, he felt comfortable moving forward with the trade after continued talks with Reds general manager Walt Jocketty.
“There was a lot of research that neededও to be done, but the legitimate opportunity for acquisition became more realistic as the winter played out,” Cashman said. “I had a lot of dialogue with people within the [Reds] organization and outside the organization to try get a better feel on what would be dealing with.’’
Cashman added: “It’s a situation where there’s a process in play. If there’s anything actionable or not, both from a sport and law side of it … I think we’ll understand when baseball goes through its investigation. There’s a number of different things at play that are out of our hands. We’ll deal with those ultimate outcomes — if there are any — and go from there.”