Aroldis Chapman Traded to Yankees from Reds

The New York Yankees bolstered their already dominating bullpen when they acquired Aroldis Chapman a hard throwing closer from the Cincinnati Reds for four players in the minor leagues the two teams announced on Monday.

The Reds have traded away or lost to free agency a number of their veterans over the last six months. In exchange for Chapman, the Reds will get right-hander Rookie Davis and Caleb Cotham and infielders Tony Renda and Eric Jagielo

The Yankees added a huge arm to their bullpen while they already have flamethrowers Andrew Miller and Dellin Betances.

If New York keep each of the three, they would become the first team in the history of MLB to feature three pitchers with a least 100 strikeouts as a reliever the prior season.

Adding Chapman to the mix sets up a possibility of a bullpen that is lockdown and could help shorten games for Yankees’ to six innings, which would lower the demand of an aging starting rotation.

However, trading for the left-handed Chapman comes with a real risk element. A source said the Yankees went ahead with his trade knowing that both law enforcement officials in Florida and officials with Major League Baseball are continuing an investigation over an incident on October 30 where Chapman allegedly had grabbed his girlfriend in a chock hold and the fired eight shots inside his garage from a handgun in Florida.

The source has said that New York believes that Chapman who has not been charged for domestic violence due to a lack of evidence, might be suspended by the league as many as 45 days related to the gun incident.

Chapman became available when Cincinnati’s deal with the Dodgers fell through in early December at the winter meetings, when the news broke about him being investigated by the Florida police.

According to a report by police, Chapman’s girlfriend accused the left-hander of choking and pushing her while they had a verbal disagreement that started after she found something on the player’s phone that upset her.

Chapman said he only poked his girlfriend on her shoulder and then fell over onto the ground.

Over 12 officers from the area responded to the October 30 incident.

MLB has said that it would take all the time necessary to vet the matter more thoroughly. The league is investigating domestic violence involving players such as Yasiel Puig and Jose Reyes.