Five months after being traded by the New York Yankees for prospects, the Yankees come back and sign Aroldis Chapman to a five-year contract.
Well, Mark Melancon held the record for the biggest contract for a reliever for a couple days. After winning a ring with the Chicago Cubs after a trade with the New York Yankees, the Yankees turn right around and bring back Aroldis Chapman in free agency with the biggest contract ever for a reliever.
BREAKING: Chapman to #Yankees, five years, $86M.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 8, 2016
Source: Chapman deal includes three-year opt-out, full no-trade for first three years, limited no-trade for final two.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 8, 2016
Between the Yankees and Cubs last year, Chapman, 28, went 4-1 with a 1.55 ERA, striking out 90 batters in 58 innings. Chapman has made the All-Star team four out of the last five seasons. The Cubs were not going to pay big for a closer and let Chapman hit the market. They instead acquired Wade Davis earlier in the day to fill that role in exchange for Jorge Soler.
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The Yankees got top prospect Gleyber Torres in the deal for Chapman back in July as they began to rebuild their team. The signing of Chapman will move Dellin Betances back to a setup role as they now have two-thirds of “No Runs DMC” back in the bullpen.
The Yankees had all the intentions in the world of bringing back Chapman in the offseason after trading him and were able to get that done. They may rely heavily on their bullpen again this year with many questions in their rotation. Instead of Andrew Miller, they’ll have Tyler Clippard and possibly Adam Warren to go along with Betances and Chapman.
After seeing the rival Boston Red Sox acquire Chris Sale on Tuesday, it puts the Yankees in a better position to compete within the division for 2017 and beyond. Having Chapman and Betances at the end of the game is a huge plus for them and gives them a 1-2 punch that is right up there with anyone in the game.
With guys like Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez up for good now and having a shutdown bullpen at the end of games, the Yankees are on their way back to the top. Not only did they get a top prospect for Chapman, they were able to bring him back in free agency.
It was a good night to be Brian Cashman.