UPDATE: Not so fast my friends. MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon says the trade sending Aroldis Chapman to the Dodgers has not been completed and other teams could still be in the mix
The details are sketchy, but perhaps when the identity of the prospects coming back from the Dodgers to Cincinnati wasn’t immediately reported we should have guessed that there was a hitch in the deal here. Updates as warranted, of course.
10:30: AM: The Dodgers may have some rotation questions, but their bullpen is suddenly looking amazing: Ken Rosenthal reports that Los Angeles has acquired Aroldis Chapman from the Reds for two prospects. The identity of the prospects is not known and the deal is pending medicals.
Chapman, of course, is the most dominant reliever in baseball, with a 2.17 ERA and 546 strikeouts in 319 career major league innings. He’ll be paid $8.05 million in 2016 and can then become a free agent. Since the Dodgers only have him for one year, one would assume the prospect package isn’t elite-level, but we don’t know yet. Jon Heyman reports that the prospects are NOT not Corey Seager, Julio Urias or Jose Deleon
Chapman will close for the Dodgers with Kenley Jansen setting up. That’s one crazy good way to close out games.