Baseball Daily Dose: Daily Dose: Chapman a Cub
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The team with the best record in baseball has acquired arguably the best closer in baseball.
A trade that was reported as being close on Sunday became official Monday, as the Cubs picked up Aroldis Chapman from the Yankees in exchange for top shortstop prospect Gleyber Torres, right-hander Adam Warren and outfield prospects Billy McKinney and Rashad Crawford. Chapman will report to the Cubs on Tuesday.
It’s a hefty price to pay for a half-season of a reliever. Torres was ranked as the No. 27 overall prospect and No. 11 shortstop prospect in Baseball America’s midseason update and McKinney was a borderline top-100 guy coming into the season. Also, Crawford is a toolsy guy with a high ceiling and Warren has been a quality arm for most of his career, in both starter and reliever roles.
But, while the Cubs had to give up a lot, you can certainly understand why they pulled the trigger. This is a team that’s obviously built for a long playoff run, and getting a lockdown closer like Chapman strengthens them even more for October. The Cubs were probably already the favorite to win the World Series, and their standing has only been enhanced.
Chapman taking over the ninth inning for the Cubbies means Hector Rondon is out of a closer job. He certainly didn’t do anything to lose the gig, putting up a 1.95 ERA, microscopic 0.73 WHIP and absurd 48/5 K/BB ratio over 37 innings. It’s obviously a bummer for Rondon owners, as they’re losing a dominant closer and will now be on the hunt for saves. Chapman and Rondon have combined for a 1.98 ERA, 0.80 WHIP and 92/13 K/BB ratio over 68 1/3 innings this season. That’s not a bad 1-2 punch at the back-end of the bullpen.
Taking over for Chapman as the Yankees’ new closer will be Andrew Miller. For now, anyway. The feeling at this point is that the Yanks will hang on to Miller, as they’ve haven’t given up on their postseason hopes this season and he’s under contract through 2018. However, they’re willing to listen when other clubs call, which is no doubt happening. Dellin Betances would slide into the ninth inning should the Bombers wind up shipping Miller out of town, as well.
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Down with Dahl
The promotion of the Astros’ Alex Bregman understandably drew loads of attention on Monday, but it’s possible a different top prospect that was called up will wind up having a bigger impact in fantasy leagues.
The Rockies summoned David Dahl from Triple-A Albuquerque on Monday, sticking him in left field and batting him sixth against the Orioles. He went 1-for-4 with a single and a run scored in his debut. While Bregman placed eighth on Baseball America’s midseason prospect rankings, Dahl wasn’t far behind at No. 16.
The 22-year-old has been fantastic in the minors this season, sporting a .314/.394/.569 batting line with 18 homers, 61 RBI and 17 steals between Double- and Triple-A. Dahl has one of the most dynamic power/speed combos of any top prospect, and when you combine that with the fact that he’ll play half his games at Coors Field, it makes fantasy owners salivate.
Dahl has mostly been a center fielder in the minors but has played some at all three outfield spots. It remains to be seen whether the Rockies will trade Carlos Gonzalez and/or Charlie Blackmon this week, and Gerardo Parra (ankle) is also expected to begin a rehab assignment soon. While it wouldn’t be ideal for Dahl if all three veteran outfielders are still with the Rockies a week from now, it’s hard to imagine the club promoting the youngster if they didn’t have the intention to play him regularly. Parra has often been an active fourth outfielder in his career and that’s probably the role he’d fill if all four players remain in Colorado.
Dahl’s ownership percentage in Yahoo leagues has, not surprisingly, jumped greatly over the last 24 hours. He’s still available in about 70 percent of leagues, however, so make sure to add him if you have the opportunity.
Trade Winds
Joel Sherman of the New Yost Post has reported that the Dodgers may be willing to include Julio Urias in a package to land Chris Sale, provided that the White Sox decide to make Sale available. It would undoubtedly take a high-end young talent like Urias – not to mention probably another couple nice pieces — to pry Sale away from Chicago even after the recently clubhouse incident that resulted in the southpaw being suspended. Sale is under team control for a modest $38 million from 2017-2019.
FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal has reported that the Blue Jays are the “front-runners” for Padres outfielder Melvin Upton. It seemed as Upton might have been close to going to the Orioles at one point, but both Baltimore and Cleveland have evidently fallen behind Toronto. Toronto doesn’t seem like a great landing spot for Upton’s fantasy value, at least not for 2016. He wouldn’t seem to be a clear upgrade over any of the players he would potentially replace, so he could be looking at a part-time role. He is under contract for 2017 and Michael Saunders is slated for free agency, so Upton could take over as the everyday left fielder next year.
The Marlins are in the market for starting pitching, as the back-end of their rotation has struggled all season and now Wei-Yin Chen is out indefinitely with an elbow injury. Pitchers that have been connected to Miami include Rich Hill, Jake Odorizzi, Michael Pineda, Hector Santiago, Shelby Miller, Andrew Cashner, Wade Miley, Jeremy Hellickson, Ivan Nova and Miguel Gonzalez. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see them acquire two starters, depending on the level of pitcher(s) they’re able to get. There might only be a couple guys in the aforementioned group that are needle-movers, and one of them (Hill) is dealing with a blister issue at the moment. Still, Miami is in the thick of the Wild Card race and they desperately need to acquire at least one starter.
FOX Sports’ Jon Morosi has reported that the Rangers have expressed interest in Vincent Velasquez. It’s really hard to see the Phillies considering trading their young ace, though. Velasquez is under team control through 2021. Morosi also previously reported of the Rangers’ interest in Anthony DeSclafani, another guy who’s unlikely to be going anywhere. The Rangers have also been connected to Matt Moore, Jake Odorizzi, Andrew Cashner, Ervin Santana and Edinson Volquez. They’d have a much better shot at landing someone in that group.
National League Quick Hits: Jay Bruce improved his trade stock by smacking a pair of two-run home runs in Monday’s victory over the Giants … Zack Greinke (oblique) is on track for a simulated game or rehab start on Friday … Javier Baez went 3-for-4 with a homer, double and stolen base in Monday’s loss to the White Sox … Jeremy Hellickson blanked the Marlins for six innings on Monday … Jake Lamb could miss a couple days of action with a bruised left hand … Matt Duffy (Achilles) could begin a rehab assignment this weekend … Joe Panik (concussion) will resume a rehab assignment Tuesday following last week’s setback … Brewers manager Craig Counsell said Monday that Domingo Santana had a “big setback” with his right elbow while on his rehab assignment … Aaron Altherr (wrist) is on track to be activated from the disabled list by the end of the week … Alex Dickerson went 3-for-4 with a two-run homer in Monday’s loss to the Blue Jays … Andres Blanco will undergo surgery Wednesday to repair a fractured left index finger …
American League Quick Hits: Adrian Beltre went 4-for-5 with two homers — including a walk-off bomb – in Monday’s victory over the A’s … Aaron Sanchez struck out seven batters across seven shutout innings in Monday’s win over the Padres … Chris sale will make his next start on Thursday versus the Cubs following his five-game suspension … Prince Fielder is expected to undergo season-ending neck surgery later this week … Lorenzo Cain (hamstring) will begin a rehab assignment on Tuesday … Craig Kimbrel (knee) could begin a rehab assignment as soon as Saturday … Albert Pujols went 3-for-5 and knocked in four runs Monday in a win over the Royals … Michael Pineda whiffed eight over seven frames of one-run ball against the Astros … Jose Bautista (toe) singled and walked in his return from the disabled list Monday … The Astros are reportedly hopeful that Yulieski Gurriel will secure a work visa this week … Coco Crisp (neck) was out of the Athletics’ lineup for the second straight day Monday … Logan Morrison (wrist) is expected to return to the Rays’ starting lineup on Tuesday … Danny Valencia went 2-for-4 with a homer and three RBI in Monday’s loss to the Rangers …
