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Minor MLB Transactions: 8/1/16

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We’ve had a number of big moves as we approached the trade deadline today, but here are a few smaller ones.

  • The Blue Jays have designated righty Ben Rowen to clear space on their roster for the newly acquired Mike Bolsinger, Brendan Kennedy of the Toronto Star tweets. The 27-year-old Rowen has pitched well this season in the bullpen at Triple-A Buffalo, posting a 2.47 ERA, 6.3 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 in 47 1/3 innings, and he’s continued his trend of getting tons of ground-ball outs in the minors, with a ratio of 3.25 outs on the ground for every one in the air.
  • In an intriguing minor deal, the Dodgers have announced that they’ve acquired righty Josh Fields from the Astros for first baseman Yordan Alvarez. The 30-year-old Fields thrived in the Astros’ bullpen last season, with a 3.55 ERA, 3.4 BB/9 and an exceptional 11.9 K/9, but failed to get good results despite maintaining strong peripherals this season and has spent much of the year with Triple-A Fresno. The Dodgers signed the 19-year-old Alvarez for $2MM earlier this season. He played in Cuba’s Serie Nacional in 2013 and 2014 and has not yet appeared in a minor league game.
  • In the wake of their trade for Jonathan Lucroy, the Rangers have announced that they’ve designated fellow catchers Bryan Holaday and Bobby Wilson for assignment. Both have played sparingly for Texas this year. Holaday, acquired in late March after many years in the Tigers organization, batted .238/.290/.405 in 94 plate appearances with the Rangers. Wilson, an eight-year MLB veteran, hit .250/.277/.352.
  • The Mariners have announced that they’ve claimed infielder Mike Freeman off waivers from the Diamondbacks. To clear space on their 40-man roster, they’ve designated infielder Patrick Kivlehan for assignment. Freeman, soon to be 29, briefly played in the Majors this season but has spent most of the year with Triple-A Reno, where he’s batted .317/.387/.411 while playing second, first and all three outfield positions. The 26-year-old Kivlehan has hit a disappointing .242/.291/.399 with Seattle and Texas’ Triple-A affiliates.
  • The Cubs have announced that they designated lefty Brian Matusz for assignment. The move clears space on their active roster for righty Spencer Patton, who was promoted from Triple-A Iowa. The Cubs signed Matusz to a minor league deal in June after he was traded from the Orioles to the Braves and then designated for assignment. He had previously been a longtime and productive member of the Baltimore bullpen, but he’s struggled in nine big-league innings this season, allowing 14 runs.

Cubs Acquire Joe Smith

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The Cubs acquired reliever Joe Smith from the Angels, tweets ESPN’s Buster Olney.  The Halos will receive minor league pitcher Jesus Castillo from the Cubs, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.  The Cubs have officially announced the deal.

"JulSmith, a 32-year-old righty, has been OK this year.  The veteran has a 3.82 ERA, 6.0 K/9, 3.1 BB/9, 0.96 HR/9, and 54.8% groundball rate in 37 2/3 innings, missing most of June due to a hamstring strain.  Smith has about $1.8MM remaining on his contract, after which he’ll be eligible for free agency.  He signed a three-year, $15.75MM deal with the Angels in November 2013 after a long, successful run with the Indians.  Unlike years past, the sidearming Smith has not been great against right-handed hitters in 2016.  It’s been a month of bullpen additions for the Cubs, who previously added Aroldis Chapman, Mike Montgomery, and Joe Nathan.

Castillo, 20, has posted a 3.27 ERA in seven starts for the Cubs’ Low-A affiliate this year.  The Cubs previously acquired Castillo from the Diamonbacks in the February 2013 Tony Campana trade.

In another deadline day deal, the Angels traded Hector Santiago and a minor leaguer to the Twins for Ricky Nolasco and Alex Meyer.

Deadline Day Rotation Rumors

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While we’ll certainly break out any stories that seem to have some helium, we’ll use this post to keep tabs on less pressing developments in the market for starting pitching:

  • The Pirates are talking to the Yankees about Ivan Nova, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
  • The Marlins are now looking for another starter after sending Colin Rea back to the Padres, Jon Morosi of MLB.com tweets.
  • Angels lefty Hector Santiago is still on the Tigers’ radar, along with Hellickson, per Morosi (via Twitter). Santiago has been talked about a decent bit in recent weeks, but we haven’t heard very many strong connections. Los Angeles is likely willing to deal him in the right situation, but surely puts a high value on a useful starter who is controllable beyond the year.
  • The Astros are mostly just “dabbling” in the market for starters, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick tweets. Edinson Volquez of the Royals represents one possible target, though Houston is said not to be terribly interested in the veteran righty.
  • While we haven’t heard much in the way of specifics, the Cubs are said to be eyeing an impactful rotation addition, and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that’s still the case. (He adds that the team prefers not to overpay for a left-handed-hitting outfielder, which is also on their wish list.)
  • The Phillies may well hold onto righty Jeremy Hellickson, ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark tweets. Philly hasn’t changed its asking price — last we heard, at least one quality prospect — but the market is changing. The Giants and Tigers aren’t in the bidding, per Stark, while the Rangers and Blue Jays have other names higher on their priority lists. With that being said, Jon Morosi of MLB.com tweets that Detroit is still looking at Hellickson, among other starters, as they seek to add to their rotation.

Latest On Joe Smith

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The Cubs are discussing a trade with the Angels for reliever Joe Smith, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  The Cubs are considering other possibilities as well, according to Rosenthal.  As you can see on our Cubs depth chart page, Theo Epstein and company have already augmented their bullpen with the acquisitions of Aroldis Chapman and Mike Montgomery, as well as the activation of veteran Joe Nathan.

In addition to the Cubs, the Angels are talking about Smith with two other teams, according to Rosenthal.  He has previously been linked to the Mets, Indians, Mariners, and Cardinals.  The 32-year-old righty has been OK this year, with a 3.82 ERA, 6.0 K/9, 3.1 BB/9, 0.96 HR/9, and 54.8% groundball rate in 37 2/3 innings.  Smith has about $1.8MM remaining on his contract, after which he’ll be eligible for free agency.

Deadline Notes: Braun, Braves, Sale, Rays, Cubs, Beltran, Astros

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Before acquiring Matt Kemp, the Braves looked into a deal for outfielder Ryan Braun, Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports tweets. Braun, certainly, would have been the more intriguing addition, given that he has significantly out-produced Kemp this year, though presumably Milwaukee is much less interested in holding onto a big chunk of Braun’s salary to facilitate a deal. Atlanta GM John Coppolella acknowledged the importance of the financial component of the pact in recent comments, as Bowman reports. “We didn’t give up a draft pick, and we didn’t trade away any prospects,” he said. “So, we were able to stick with the plan that we had while still filling a major need for us with right-handed power.”

We’ll round up the remainder of the chatter on the eve of deadline day:

  • Right-handed reliever Jim Johnson still seems to be the likeliest Braves player to be traded, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman tweets. While the team would love to find a taker for shortstop Erick Aybar, though, there simply isn’t any interest in him, per the report.
  • Chatter surrounding White Sox ace Chris Sale continues to suggest that he’s an unlikely trade candidate, but the mere possibility of a trade certainly warrants attention. The Rangers, Dodgers, and Red Sox are three clubs still working the phones to see if something can be worked out, per Heyman, who goes on to discuss some of the names being kicked around in possible deal frameworks.
  • The Rays’ own controllable starters seem more likely to be moved, though that too is far from a certainty. Tampa Bay is still holding talks with many teams, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes. Meanwhile, the Cubs are at least still looking into acquiring a quality arm from that — or another — organization, Bruce Miles of 670thescore.com tweets. We also heard tonight that the Giants are chasing Rays lefty Matt Moore.
  • Though the Yankees still haven’t fielded offers that it likes for outfielder Carlos Beltran, rival executives tell Heyman (Twitter link) that they think the veteran will be moved tomorrow. You can read up on the latest rumblings on Beltran right here.
  • Astros GM Jeff Luhnow said over the weekend (on Saturday, to be exact) that his team is “50-50” to make a move in advance of the deadline, as Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle reports. “We’ve got some things in the works, but nothing getting close to going over the finish line at this point,” said Luhnow, who also acknowledged the high price that starting pitching is commanding this summer. Houston doesn’t appear to have any real needs, strictly speaking, but is surely interested in exploring ways to bolster the roster — particularly in the rotation.

Rangers, Brewers Discussing Jonathan Lucroy; Joey Gallo “Likely” Involved

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Jonathan Lucroy stunned fans and many in the industry when he exercised his no-trade clause and vetoed a trade from the Brewers to the Indians. There are varying reports on the reasons behind Lucroy’s decision (which are examined in further detail here), but suffice it to say, talks between the two sides appear to be dead. Lucroy, of course, still can be traded to a number of other clubs, as his no-trade clause reportedly consists of the Indians, Tigers, Twins, Angels, Athletics, Padres, Mariners and Nationals. It should be noted that, as was the case yesterday, Lucroy has been held out of the Brewers’ lineup to eliminate the risk of an injury that would torpedo his value.

With Lucroy back on the market, we’ll run down all of the Sunday rumors pertaining to him in this post…

  • Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star Telegram tweets that the Rangers and Brewers are discussing Lucroy and a reliever, with Gallo indeed likely involved in the talks. However, he notes that nothing is imminent between the two sides at this time.
  • MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan reports that slugging third base prospect Joey Gallo is “likely” involved in talks between the Rangers and the Brewers (Twitter link).

Earlier Updates

  • MLB.com’s Jon Morosi tweets that one scenario being discussed has one of Yohander Mendez or Luis Ortiz going to the Brewers (obviously, among other pieces).
  • FanRag’s Jon Heyman tweets that the Mets are out on Lucroy, but the Rangers and “others” are still in the mix.
  • ESPN’s Jayson Stark tweets that the Brewers and Mets are no longer discussing Lucroy — an indicator that the Rangers could becoming an increasingly likely landing spot.
  • Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram characterizes talks between the Brewers and Rangers as “serious.” (Twitter link)
  • Mets officials are focused on trying to get a trade for Lucroy or Jay Bruce completed by tomorrow’s 4pm ET non-waiver deadline, writes ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin. They’re back in the mix alongside the Rangers as well, it seems.
  • The Rangers are “strongly in the mix” for Lucroy, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Grant, meanwhile, tweets that the Rangers are having “productive” trade conversations, which he presumes pertain to Lucroy.
  • The Dodgers expressed interest in Lucroy recently, per FanRag’s Jon Heyman (on Twitter), but the talks were part of a larger deal that would have involved more teams. FOX’s Ken Rosenthal agrees with Heyman, tweeting that the Dodgers were likely to spin him elsewhere if the deal had been worked out. In addition to Lucroy, Dodgers catcher Austin Barnes is drawing interest from other clubs, tweets Yahoo’s Jeff Passan, so there could be a wide array of moving parts. Speculatively, Barnes could be a near-MLB-ready fit to head back to the Brewers in a potential three-team deal.
  • Heyman also reports that the Cubs were in the mix as one of the aforementioned “mystery teams” on Lucroy, but talks never got especially far, as Chicago felt that the Brewers were factoring an “in-division” tax into talks (Twitter link).
  • ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick tweets that the Tigers have lingered on the fringes of the Lucroy market and have a slight chance of jumping back into the fray, but they’re more focused on starting pitching upgrades at this time. Additionally, it should be noted that Detroit is one of the other seven clubs on Lucroy’s no-trade list, so similar issues could arise if the Brewers engage the Tigers in serious talks.
  • The Mets are holding internal meetings to discuss whether they should jump back into the Lucroy mix, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post. That could mean changing their offer, coming up with a new package entirely or simply deciding to step away altogether. There are at least some indications that the latter of those options is the likeliest, as Sherman’s colleague Mike Puma hears that the Mets are out on Lucroy. Passan tweets that in addition to Travis d’Arnaud and outfield prospect Brandon Nimmo, the Brewers asked the Mets to include another MLB-ready player.
  • Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News writes that he believes the Rangers would prefer the Brewers to add a reliever to the deal if talks regarding Lucroy are to become serious. For the time being, the Rangers’ primary focus remains on adding an impact starting pitcher to the rotation, though the club figures to remain involved in Lucroy talks to at least some extent based on previous interest.

Heyman’s Latest: Sale, Cashner, Royals, Brewers, Giants, Mariners, Nats

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Even though the Yankees made a forward-looking move by trading Aroldis Chapman for Adam Warren and three young prospects (highlighted by high-ceiling shortstop Gleyber Torres), they’ve at least placed a call to the White Sox to inquire on Chris Sale, writes Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports in his latest Inside Baseball column. GM Brian Cashman wouldn’t comment on Sale when asked, telling Heyman only that the Yankees call on virtually every player that’s available as a matter of due diligence. Heyman writes that there’s speculation among other clubs that the Yanks could make a legitimate run at Sale, possibly including Torres in the package, but there’s no indication yet to support that talk.

A few more highlights from the lengthy column…

  • The Astros called the Padres to inquire on Andrew Cashner but told San Diego about 48 hours later that they were no longer interested. Whether it’s because of the asking price or another reason isn’t entirely clear. Heyman adds that, unsurprisingly, Colby Rasmus won’t be getting another qualifying offer from the Astros this year after he accepted the QO last November and has underperformed in 2016.
  • The Royals will wait until the very last minute to decide if they’re going to sell off veteran pieces. Edinson Volquez, Kendrys Morales and Luke Hochevar — each of whom has a mutual option on his contract but is likely to hit the open market following the season — are among the team’s candidates to be traded if the Royals do sell. Interestingly, he also notes that there’s a belief that Kansas City will let Alcides Escobar go and replace him with Raul Mondesi Jr. I’d personally wonder if, even though he hasn’t performed well at the plate whatsoever, the Royals could generate some trade interest (either now or after the season) due to the $6.5MM club option ($500K buyout) on Escobar’s contract.
  • Angels GM Billy Eppler will at least listen to offers on both Hector Santiago and Matt Shoemaker, though each is controllable beyond this season (Shoemaker for another four years, Santiago through 2017), so there’s no definitive urge to move either. Yunel Escobar and Joe Smith are both trade candidates for the Halos as well, as has been noted frequently over the past couple of weeks.
  • The Brewers weren’t impressed at all by the Mets’ offer for Jonathan Lucroy, which centered around Travis d’Arnaud. Heyman cites Brewers sources as saying they’ve been offered better catchers than d’Arnaud and still passed on moving Lucroy just yet. Right-hander Junior Guerra, who is having a surprisingly strong season as a 31-year-old rookie, has generated some trade interest, but Heyman says there’s been little chatter on Chris Carter. It also seems that Ryan Braun isn’t being talked about much at this stage.
  • The Giants are interested in Minnesota’s Eduardo Nunez, who has also recently been connected to the Indians. The Twins figure to be wide open to trade scenarios in the coming days, and Nunez would give the Giants some cover at third base, shortstop, second base and in left field. Similarly, the Giants have a bit of interest in Alex Guerrero, who was released by the Dodgers earlier this year. However, Heyman points out that catcher Miguel Olivo, who is being sued by Guerrero after biting off a piece of Guerrero’s ear in a dugout altercation with the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate in 2015, is playing for San Francisco’s Triple-A affiliate.
  • The Cubs and Rangers have both called the Mariners about Taijuan Walker and James Paxton, but Seattle hasn’t shown any inclination toward moving either pitcher. Wade Miley is more likely to be moved, and Heyman adds that the Mariners are still open to adding some pieces for 2016 and have checked into Angels righty Joe Smith, whom GM Jerry Dipoto signed while serving as GM in Anaheim.
  • The Nationals turned down proposals centered around both Lucas Giolito and Joe Ross when negotiating with the Yankees about Aroldis Chapman. From there, the Yankees shifted to younger players and asked for a four-prospect package centered around pitching — though it’s not clear just who New York was targeting.  Washington never got close on a Chapman trade despite quite a bit of talk with the Yankees, per Heyman.

Pitching Rumors: Chapman, Ervin, Hill, Hellickson, Ubaldo, Blue Jays

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Joel Sherman of the New York Post walks readers through the winding process the Cubs took to reach an agreement on an Aroldis Chapman trade with the Yankees. Per Sherman, the Cubs never wanted to pursue a rental pitcher but weren’t able to convince the Yankees to back down from their demand of Kyle Schwarber. Chicago then turned to the Royals, only to find the asking price on Wade Davis to be even higher than the asking price on Miller. The Cubs weren’t willing to deal from their big league roster to upgrade the ’pen but were willing to deal from their infield depth, parting with Class-A shortstop Gleyber Torres largely because of the presence of both Addison Russell and Javier Baez on the Major League roster. (Notably, Chicago also dealt from its first base depth in moving Dan Vogelbach for another left-handed reliever: Seattle’s Mike Montgomery.) Sherman adds that owner Hal Steinbrenner still wants to win in 2016 despite approving the Chapman swap, which calls into question whether the club would entertain even an overwhelming offer for Miller.

A few notes on the pitching market…

  • Twins interim GM Rob Antony has expressed an openness to moving Ervin Santana if approached with a strong offer, but he tells Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune that he’s not shopping the right-hander (Twitter link). “I’ll be honest,” said Antony, “I’m not calling anybody trying to move him.” As Antony explained yesterday in a Q&A with MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger, his feeling is that he couldn’t sign a pitcher of Santana’s effectiveness to a two-year, $27MM contract with a third-year club option (the remaining commitment on Santana’s deal after 2016) on the free agent market this winter and, as such, believes there to be enough value that he needn’t shop Santana to other clubs. Antony again stated that he’s not under any type of ownership mandate to trim payroll, suggesting that shedding Santana’s salary may not be all that appealing.
  • Pitching is the Twins’ biggest priority on the trade market this summer, according to Antony (Twitter link via Bollinger). While the club is clearly open to trading veteran pieces to acquire young pitching help, Antony said he’s also talked to other teams that are considered to be sellers about acquiring big league pitching — presumably MLB arms that are controllable well beyond the 2016 season.
  • Athletics southpaw Rich Hill believes he’ll be able to pitch on Sunday after throwing 50 pitches with protective covering over his blistered left hand and another 20 without the cover, tweets John Hickey of the Bay Area News Group. Hill has scarcely been able to pitch since late May due to a groin strain and this newfound blister issue, but he remains a highly intriguing rental option thanks to a 2.25 ERA with 10.7 K/9, 3.3 BB/9 and a 50 percent ground-ball rate through 76 innings out of the Oakland rotation this season. That would obviously give rival scouts just one more opportunity to look at Hill before Monday’s non-waiver deadline, but that could prove crucial given his limited recent exposure.
  • Both the Rangers and Orioles were in attendance for Jeremy Hellickson’s scoreless six innings for the Phillies against the Marlins last night, per ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick. (The Marlins — Hellickson’s opponents — also obviously had evaluators on hand and have long been linked to Hellickson.) There’s no clear frontrunner for Hellickson’s services, Crasnick notes, but it’s a “virtual lock” that he’ll change teams on or before next Monday.
  • The Padres asked the Orioles to include minor league left-hander Garrett Cleavinger and minor legaue righty Jhon Peluffo in the trade that would’ve sent Ubaldo Jimenez to San Diego in exchange for Melvin Upton Jr., according to MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko (on Twitter). However, FOX’s Ken Rosenthal tweets that the talks broke down over finances, and Bleacher Report’s Scott Miller adds (also via Twitter) that owner Peter Angelos had a late change of heart and altered the nearly agreed-upon deal — specifically the amount of money that would have changed hands. The Padres ultimately shifted course and sent Upton to the Blue Jays.
  • Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins says he’s not done making moves after swooping in and acquiring Upton earlier this morning, via Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith (links to Nicholson–Smith on Twitter). Atkins’ comments seemingly focused on pitching upgrades, with the GM indicating that the market for relief help is more robust than the market for starters at present. Atkins says he’s talked with all 29 other clubs on multiple occasions and is now focused on a smaller group of teams that could potentially upgrade his pitching staff. Asked specifically about the Padres — the Jays have been linked multiple times to Andrew Cashner, who tossed a quality start against them tonight — Atkins replied, “They have interesting pitching as well.”

Cubs Designate Clayton Richard For Assignment

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The Cubs have designated left-hander Clayton Richard for assignment in order to clear a spot on the roster for the newly acquired Aroldis Chapman, per ESPN Chicago’s Jesse Rogers (Twitter link). The organization’s hope, according to Rogers, is that Richards will clear waivers and remain in the organization to be further stretched out at the Triple-A level.

Richard, 32, enjoyed a solid comeback season with the 2015 Cubs, working to a 3.83 ERA with 4.7 K/9, 1.5 BB/9 and a 59.3 percent ground-ball rate in 47 2/3 innings out of the bullpen after inking a minor league contract. He was especially tough on opposing lefties, limiting same-handed batters to a .234/.269/.266 slash in 67 plate appearances. However, he’s struggled in 14 innings since re-signing with the Cubs, surrendering 10 earned runs (6.43 ERA) on 23 hits and seven walks with seven strikeouts in that time. The additions of Chapman and Mike Montgomery, in conjunction with the presence of Travis Wood on the roster, have made Richards an expendable fourth lefty in the ’pen for the time being.

Richard is earning $2MM this season and has about $951K of that sum remaining through year’s end, so there’s a good chance that he will indeed clear waivers. Of course, he also has enough service time to refuse an outright assignment and test the open market without forfeiting the remainder of that salary, so it’s not a given that he’ll elect to stay in the Cubs organization.

Cubs Acquire Aroldis Chapman

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2:37pm: The Cubs and Yankees have each formally announced the trade. Warren will join the Yankees’ Major League roster, while McKinney will head to Double-A Trenton. Torres and Crawford are each bound for Class-A Tampa.

11:03am: After months of being linked to a hard-throwing left-hander for their bullpen, the Cubs have reportedly acquired the hardest-throwing pitcher in all of Major League Baseball, reaching an agreement with the Yankees that will send Aroldis Chapman from New York to Chicago in exchange for shortstop prospect Gleyber Torres, right-hander Adam Warren and minor league outfielders Billy McKinney and Rashad Crawford.

Aroldis Chapman

The Cubs have been linked to Chapman and fellow lefty Andrew Miller for months, but the Yankees seemingly never wavered from their asking price of Kyle Schwarber in exchange for Miller, and the Cubs never budged on their refusal to discuss the injured slugger. Instead, the Cubs will pick up Chapman — long one of the best closers in all of baseball but also a free agent at season’s end, making the four-player package headlined by Torres a steep price to pay. However, the Cubs have more wins than any team in Major League Baseball and are making a clear effort to deepen their roster not just to get to the postseason but to thrive upon arriving there. The structure of the postseason schedule allows clubs to more heavily rely on their bullpen arms due to the frequency of off-days in the schedule, making Chapman that much more valuable in a five- or seven-game series.

The 2016 season has seen Chapman continue his on-field excellence,  posting a pristine 2.01 ERA with 12.6 K/9, a career-best 2.3 BB/9 and a 37.3 percent ground-ball rate. Chapman’s fastball has averaged a staggering 100.1 mph this season, which is a strong driving factor behind an 18.2 percent swinging-strike rate that is the fourth-highest in MLB. Since taking over as the Cincinnati closer back in 2012, Chapman has compiled a 1.91 ERA with 165 saves and a ridiculous 500-to-117 K/BB ratio in 287 innings of relief work. He’s earning $11.325MM this year and has about $4.33MM remaining on his salary through season’s end.

Chapman becomes the second hard-throwing lefty to join the Cubs’ bullpen in the past week, as Chicago also picked up lefty Mike Montgomery from the Mariners in a trade that sent slugging (and blocked) minor league first baseman Dan Vogelbach to Seattle. Chapman figures to supplant Hector Rondon as the Chicago closer, pushing Pedro Strop to the seventh inning. Montgomery and right-hander Carl Edwards Jr. will mix in as well, as will right-hander Justin Grimm and veteran right-hander Joe Nathan, who was just brought to the Majors over the weekend after completing rehab from Tommy John surgery. Travis Wood has pitched to a 2.88 ERA this season and is second among Chicago relievers in terms of innings pitched, so he’s likely to become the third lefty in manager Joe Maddon’s bullpen. As such, the acquisition of Chapman could push left-hander Clayton Richard, who has a 6.43 ERA in 14 innings this year, out of the picture.

[Related: Updated Chicago Cubs and New York Yankees Depth Charts]

Chapman’s time with the Yankees will ultimately prove to be brief in nature, as he spent just a few months in the organization and only a bit more than two months on the active roster due to a 30-game suspension under Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy. Chapman was investigated by the league this offseason following allegations of assaulting his girlfriend at a party and later discharging a handgun in his garage, though he was never arrested nor were any charges filed. While the moral and ethical implications of acquiring a player associated with that investigation can be debated to no end, from a pure baseball perspective, the investigation drastically lowered the price for the Yankees to acquire Chapman this winter. They’ll now swap out Eric Jagielo, Rookie Davis, Caleb Cotham and Tony Renda for a significantly more talented package of talent, headlined by Torres and McKinney.

Warren will return to the Bronx with two and a half years of service time, and he’ll be a familiar face for the Yankees, who just this offseason traded him to the Cubs in order to acquire Starlin Castro. However, Chicago proved to be a struggle for Warren, who pitched to a 5.91 ERA in 35 innings with the Cubs. Considering the strong work that Warren did from 2013-15 with the Yankees — 3.23 ERA, 7.7 K/9, 2.9 BB/9, 45.3 percent ground-ball rate — the extent of his struggles was fairly surprising. The primary culprits for Warren were a dramatic spike in his walk rate (4.9 BB/9) and a massive increase in homers. A fluky 16.7 percent homer-to-flyball ratio undoubtedly impacted his 1.8 HR/9 rate, but Warren’s general problems with locating his pitches actually led to a greater percentage of pitches in the strike zone, particularly when behind in the count.

Torres, 19, is the most highly regarded prospect joining the Yankees’ ranks. One of the prizes of the Cubs’ pool-shattering international spending spree three summers ago, the shortstop entered the season as a consensus Top 50 prospect around the league and has only continued to boost his stock. Torres is hitting .275/.359/.433 with nine homers and 19 stolen bases in 409 plate appearances while playing against considerably older competition. ESPN’s Keith Law rated Torres 26th on his midseason list of the game’s top prospects, and Baseball America pegged him 27th. Law noted that Torres has put on weight and filled out a bit, making it less certain that he’ll stick at shortstop but adding to the power output he’s delivered in a pitcher-friendly home park as one of three teenagers receiving regular at-bats in the Carolina League this year. BA notes that he’s recovered from a dreadfully low start — indeed, he’s hitting .302/.379/.468 since May 1 — and has shown enough added pop to profile at second or third base even if he has to move off of shortstop.

The 21-year-old McKinney was a Top 100 prospect entering the season but has seen his stock dip a bit, part of which BA attributes to adding “some bad weight” and slowing down both in terms of foot speed and bat speed. In 349 plate appearances at the Double-A level this season, McKinney is hitting .252/.355/.322 with just one home run. However, he’s quite young for the level and is just a year removed from hitting .300/.371/.454 as a 20-year-old between Class-A Advanced and Double-A, so there’s certainly room for a rebound. And, as evidenced by McKinney’s 47 walks (13.5 percent) against 68 strikeouts (19.4 percent), he still possesses strong discipline at the plate that should play into his favor as he continues to develop. The Yankees will be the third organization for McKinney, who was selected 24th overall by the A’s in 2013 but traded to the Cubs alongside Addison Russell in the Jeff Samardzija/Jason Hammel blockbuster back in 2014.

As for Crawford, the 22-year-old was an 11th-round pick out of high school by the Cubs back in 2012 and is in his first season at Class-A Advanced. He’s hitting .255/.327/.386 with three homers and 22 steals in 28 tries through his first 370 trips to the plate. Crawford didn’t land on any top 30 lists for the Cubs, but BA’s J.J. Cooper tweets that as a toolsy center fielder with plus speed and plus defense, Crawford is the “perfect” fourth player/lottery ticket to add some further upside to the deal for the Yankees.

Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports was the first to report that the two were talking about a trade involving Chapman and Torres and also the first to say a deal was in place (via Twitter). Joel Sherman of the New York Post first reported Warren’s inclusion (links to Twitter). Sahadev Sharma of TheAthletic.com first reported that McKinney was in the deal (also via Twitter). Patrick Mooney of CSN Chicago reported that Crawford was the fourth player (Twitter link).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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