With the New York Yankees (44-45) continuing to fall in the playoff standings, Aroldis Chapman's impending free agency makes him an attractive trade chip.
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Yankees' Struggles Open Door for Chapman Deal
Saturday, July 16
Per Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, the Yankees "will trade" Chapman "if things don't turn" around before the August 1 non-waiver trade deadline.
After being suspended for the first 30 games of this season for violating MLB's domestic-violence policy, Chapman returned looking like the dominant closer he's been throughout his big league career.
In 27 games, he's recorded 17 saves with 40 strikeouts, six walks and 18 hits allowed in 26.1 innings.
Entering play Saturday, the Yankees are 8.5 games behind the Baltimore Orioles in the American League East and 5.5 games out of the second wild-card spot with six teams ahead of them.
This is the year when all of those big contracts the Yankees handed out years ago backfire on them. Mark Teixeira has a .578 OPS in 62 games, Alex Rodriguez has largely been relegated to bench duty lately with a .260 on-base percentage, and Brett Gardner isn't hitting for power or stealing bases like he once did.
CC Sabathia has been effective in the starting rotation, but he and Masahiro Tanaka are the only regular starters with an ERA under 5.11.
Chapman makes sense as a trade chip because he'll be a free agent and will command a huge salary in the offseason. But his potential value doesn't seem to be high because an interested team would only get him for two months and a potential playoff run.
Some contending teams do need relief help, but there's a ceiling to what they should pay for someone who is likely to throw 30 innings the rest of this season.
But the Yankees are a smart organization capable of maximizing a return on investment, so their scouting staff will examine any potential prospects the team can get in a deal to make a trade worth their time.
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