Cubs reportedly complete trade with Yankees for Aroldis Chapman

The right-hander has 18 saves this season, as well as a 1.95 ERA and 48 strikeouts in 37 innings.

Chapman is known for his blazing fastball, frequently topping 100 miles per hour and even going as high as 105 miles per hour at times. But the Cubs are also taking on a guy who admitted to firing eight gunshots into a wall to scare his girlfriend last October and may have also chocked her that same night.

The Cubs are sending reliever Adam Warren along with Torres and prospect Billy McKinney in exchange for Chapman’s services. Chapman’s contract is up at the end of the 2016 season, so he is technically just a rental at the moment.

Chapman has 166 saves over his seven-year major league career, the first six of which were with the Cincinnati Reds.

Chapman has pitched in only two postseasons and none since 2012, but he should know what’s at stake as he approaches free agency with the chance to help the Cubs win their first World Series since 1908.

The 28-year-old Chapman went 3-0 with a 2.01 ERA and 20 saves in 31 games for NY. But it wasn’t until they spoke with Chapman on Monday that they were ready to complete the deal.

All of that being said, Chapman made it clear that he is happy to be in Chicago and wants to bring a championship to the franchise and fan base.

And while they are still even 4-1/2 games out of the second wild-card berth, where once they had to leapfrog a half-dozen teams to get there, now they trail only three.

“I’ve been in this situation before”, the 39-year-old said.

The move has been met with some controversy considering the prospects that the Cubs gave to the Yankees for Chapman and the reliever’s domestic incident this past winter. The shortstop has hit nine homers and 23 doubles in 94 games with High-A Myrtle Beach. The Cubs signed him to a $1.8 million bonus in the 2013 worldwide draft.

Torres is the No.1 prospect in the Cubs’ organization, according to MLB Pipeline. During this past off-season, the Yankees dealt Warren to the Cubs for Starlin Castro. On the season, he holds a 3-2 record, along with a 5.91 ERA, 5.83 FIP and a 68 ERA+, in 35 innings pitched over 29 appearances (one start). As several top prospects have left Chicago in favor of New York, MLB.com and MLB Pipeline have already rearranged each club’s slate of minor league rankings.