The Yankees are reportedly close to trading Aroldis Chapman as the Cubs go all-in to win the World Series
In a role reversal that would have been laughable a few years ago, the Chicago Cubs are officially all-in to try and win the World Series and it appears that the New York Yankees are ready to waive the white flag on the 2016 season.
According to several reports, the Cubs are close to acquiring superstar closer Aroldis Chapman from the Yankees.
It appears that the two clubs have the basics of the deal in place. According to Jon Heyman of Fan Rag Sports, the Yankees would receive shortstop prospect Gleyber Torres.
According to Baseball America's recent mid-season rankings, Torres is the 27th best prospect in baseball.
Other players are expected to be part of the deal.
For the Cubs, it addresses the last glaring weakness that the team has, a powerful left-handed reliever. To be able to acquire someone of Chapman's caliber, will have to give up their best prospect, which ends up being good business for the New York Yankees.
The Yankees acquired Chapman prior to the season in a trade with the Cincinnati Reds. The move raised eyebrows at the time because most believed the Yankees had more glaring problems than their bullpen. However, the move works out in the end as the Yankees gave up four fringe prospects for Chapman and now will receive the Cubs' top prospect and others.
The losers in this deal would be a team that's not even involved in it, and that is the Reds. They traded Chapman for a discounted package as he was facing a domestic-violence investigation. If they had waited, the return would have been much greater.