Despite being embroiled in the middle of some incredibly serious domestic violence allegations, the Yankees traded for fireballer Aroldis Chapman. Chapman was dealt in exchange for four relatively middle of the pack minor leaguers. In exchange for Chapman the Reds will be receiving 22 year old right hander Rookie Davis, third baseman Eric Jagielo, second baseman Tony Renda, and right hander Caleb Cotham. Chapman is expected to become the Yankee’s new closer, dependent on any possible suspension.
Jagielo, 23, was selected in the first round of the 2013 draft out of Notre Dame. A knee injury that required arthroscopic surgery shortened his 2015 season, but when he was healthy, he batted .284/.347/.495 with nine homers in 58 games/248 plate appearances at the Double-A level. MLB.com’s scouting report notes that Jagielo is strong and has “good loft in his swing,” giving him the ability to drive the ball to all fields. His penchant for strikeouts (23.3 percent in 2015; 24.4 percent in 2014) is a red flag, but MLB.com notes that he draws enough walks to post sound OBP numbers even if his batting average is lackluster. The question surrounding Jagielo is whether he’ll stay at third base or move across the diamond to first, as questions about his range and arm strength are oft-cited strikes against him. Despite those potential issues, MLB.com did rate him as the No. 7 third-base prospect in the game.
As for Davis, Norris notes in his scouting report over at BA that alterations to his delivery led to a breakout of sorts in 2015. Davis pitched to a combined 3.86 ERA with 8.9 K/9 against 1.8 BB/9 in in 130 2/3 innings between Class-A Advanced and Double-A. The mechanical changes resulted in increased velocity, per Norris, who writes that Davis sits 93 to 95 mph with his heater — a pitch that is complemented by a sharp mid-70s curve and a low-80s changeup. BA indicates that he could be a mid-rotation starter, while MLB.com notes that he has good control but spotty command (i.e. throws strikes but doesn’t command the pitches within the strike zone) and could be best suited for a relief role, where his velocity could approach triple digits.
The Yankees acquired Renda, 24, from the Nationals this past season in exchange for right-hander David Carpenter. The fleet-footed infielder batted .269/.330/.358 in 532 Double-A plate appearances between the two organizations, adding three homers and 23 steals (in 29 attempts). Renda rated 12th among Nationals farmhands last season and was 22nd on MLB.com’s Top 30 at the time of the trade to the Yankees in early June. BA praised his compact swing and line-drive stroke in last winter’s scouting report, noting that his bat has a chance to be above-average, and he’s tough to strike out. He’s drawn praise for his makeup and work ethic as well, and last offseason Fangraphs’ scouting report praised his advanced bat control while noting that he lacked power.
While it appears the Yankees added a lot of on the field talent relatively cheaply, they do so at a massive PR risk. I suppose it goes to prove that there is always someone willing to overlook just about anything, if you can throw 100+mph. Remember on opening day, that the same city that boo’d Alex Rodriguez for putting steroids into his body will be cheering wholeheartedly for Chapman.
If you want to know anything about the current state of humanity, go to the linked MLBTR post and just read all of the Yankee fans’ comments.
Fan Interference 
I’ll delete mine.
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lol. Beat you by like 30 seconds
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They are essentially only trading for 1 year of Chapman (and perhaps a pick if they are willing to risk a QO on him). While they didn’t get any top end talent, Juggalo (sorry, can’t be helped and can’t ever remember how to spell his damned name) and Davis are solid prospects…if not for Chapman’s propensity to fire guns into walls or leave hookers tied up in his hotel room, they probably could have got more for him in this crazy market…but still, there is a really good chance that they still get a lot of future production for just giving up this one year of Chapman.
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It was a great move by the Reds, they certainly got more than they would have otherwise. I can’t believe they pulled the trigger on this in New York, but I guess all they care about is winning. Can’t wait to face him 19 times a year. There’s talk that if he gets suspended his service time may get pushed and the Yankees may have him for an additional year. I’m not sure how that rule plays out, but it could be interesting if true.
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Yeah, I forgot about that….I’m sure there would be a hearing on it as this aspect of suspensions and service time likely wasn’t explicitly considered in the rather hasty rule re-writes.
The Yanks may actually be expecting or rooting for a suspension then…if it results in them getting 1.8 yrs of control instead of just 1.
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I’d have to think, as ugly as the optics would be, that the players union would file a grievance if MLB tried that, and I strongly think the union would win.
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If true, nothing MLBPA can do.
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Well, they can bitch…..and will probably appeal…but yeah, won’t amount to anything.
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COPO, I didn’t have the time to check the agreement on the domestic violence when I first posted. If it’s listed there, then it’s listed there. (And, this makes the Yankees scummier, and the Reds dumber yet, on the trade.)
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FYI: “Within his piece, Sherman notes that a suspension is most likely forthcoming for Chapman, but it will probably be “more in the 10-25 game range” than the 40-plus games that would cost Chapman his shot at free agency next winter. (Chapman currently has five years, 34 days of MLB service, meaning that if he misses 46 days of the regular season, he’d fall shy of six years of service and miss out on free agency eligibility.)”
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2015/12/yankees-dont-intend-trade-andrew-miller.html
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And, the Yankees may have lost their longer-term gamble. Joel Sherman says he expects any suspension to be under 25 games, which wouldn’t be long enough to affect Chapman’s service time.
http://nypost.com/2015/12/28/why-yankees-pulled-about-face-to-stomach-aroldis-chapman/
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Actually, both MLBTR says “mid-level prospects.”
Yahoo agrees, per Jeff Passan.
I think the Reds sold before the price dropped lower, worrying about how long a suspension might be.
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….but compared to the hauls for Giles and Kimbrel….there isn’t much upside among those prospects.
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My take, besides what Scouts said, and what I had written at the same time, is that this was a mutual gamble or something.
Yankees gave up mainly “meh” players, but are still gambling the suspension is not too long. Reds are gambling that, in essence, any suspension is a suspension and they didn’t sell low.
Meanwhile, as for the possibility of an actual suspension, how long does it take Manfred’s office to act? And, we’ve not even mentioned Jose Reyes.
Oops I did.
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I’m not entirely sure I understand this deal from either side. I will duck the issue of hiring in a definite scumbag; that always seems to work out in sports if the scumbag helps the team win.
The Reds sold low compared to previous high pays for top relievers (ahem, Astros). I suppose they were running ahead of very nasty PR, but the question becomes whether holding him for the QO and getting one more year of service after 2016 was as good deal. If any two of the prospects start for three or four years for a very cheap price I suppose that it might be a decent deal. And they do have a hole where Frazier was.
For the Yankees, I don’t think another top reliever moves the needle at all. There are a lot more pieces that made KC a winner than just the relief staff. Unless they are looking to move Miller this doesn’t seem like the best move ever to me.
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I appreciate the Yanks’ interest in being a part of history with MLB’s new DV policy. It’s a storied franchise with many historical moments.
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Maybe they’re just trying to stay ahead of the Wilpons.
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Cincinnati’s thinking
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The Reds look like they are going to be a disaster for a while. They are keeping the old in Old School….by hiring guys that don’t know how to interpret or use any kinds of new information (meaning they have a knowledge gap compared to other teams when making decision), something a team on their budget just can’t afford….and then they promote an owner’s kid to be the next GM, odds that he knows what he’s doing compared to people that earned their positions via skill rather than nepotism are really low.
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“I love the smell of nepotism in the morning!”
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This is simply Exhibit #831,654,235,764,124,578,424,146,895 demonstrating that if you are good enough at sports-things, some team somewhere will overlook your off-field shortcomings/shitheadedness.
On a purely baseball level, I’m happy he’s not in the NL anymore. You DH-lovers can deal with him now.
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God fucking dammit.
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Much sympathy,
Person whose team signed K-Rod
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