(Photo: Kim Klement, USA TODAY Sports)
Update: Rashad Crawford is the fourth player going to New York.
The Chicago Cubs just got that much better.
The National League leading Cubs(59-38) have acquired Aroldis Chapman from the New York Yankees in exchange for Gleybar Torres, Adam Warren and two other players. Chapman, known for his impressive fastball velocity is 3-0 on the year with a 2.01 earned run average. The lefty has compiled 44 strike outs and a remarkable .894 WHIP in 31.1 innings of work. The 28-year-old Cuban will slide into the closer role for Chicago as they gear up for a playoff run in hopes of ending the dreaded Curse of the Billy Goat.
The Yankees will receive Gleybar Torres as part of the the deal. Torres, a shortstop, is currently ranked as the Cubs #1 overall prospect. The 19-year-old Venezuelan is batting .275 this year with nine home runs and 47 RBIs for single-A Myrtle Beach.
Adam Warren will be heading back to New York in the deal. Warren, 28, has had a rocky go of things in Chicago giving up 23 earned runs in 35 innings. Warren pitched for the Yankees from 2012-2015 before being traded as a part of the Starlin Castro deal last December.
Billy McKinney is the other player heading to the Yankees in the deal.
McKinney, 21, is the ranked as the #5 prospect in the Cubs organization on MLB.com. The left handed hitting outfielder was drafted in the first round by the Oakland Athletics in 2013. He was traded to the Cubs in the Addison Russell deal for Jason Hammel and Jeff Samardzija.
A fourth player is reportedly in play and has yet to be named.
