Yankees already in talks with Aroldis Chapman

Baseball season hasn’t even been over for a week yet, and we’ve already been hit with dozens of free agent rumors. One centers around closer Aroldis Chapman and his former team, Yankees, who have already had preliminary discussions, according to Mark Feinsand of The New York Daily News.

The Yankees parted with Chapman at this year’s trade deadline, giving up the 28-year old in exchange for closer Adam Warren and three prospects, including most notably 19-year old shortstop Gleybler Torres, who is ranked one of baseball’s top prospects.

Before pitching to a point where his arm almost fell off in the World Series, Chapman was apart of the Yankees powerful “No Runs DMC” string of relief pitchers, that included Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller. After the trades of both DMC’s “M” and “C”, Betances finished the year as the Yankees closer, arguably burning out his arm in vogue with many of the other bullpen pitchers for New York.

While in pinstripes, Chapman recorded 20 saves and 44 strikeouts in 29 games, racking up a microscopic 2.01 ERA. If the Yankees do strike a deal, Chapman’s 103 MPH fastball is going to come at an unprecedented price.

Chapman missed the first 30 games of the 2016 season, serving a suspension brought about by his violation of MLB’s domestic violence policy. The Yankees expressed interest in re-signing him this winter after the midseason trade, and appear to be a strong suitor for his services.