Yankees Agree to Blockbuster Trade With Cubs

By ESPN

The New York Yankees have agreed to a blockbuster trade that will send star closer Aroldis Chapman to the Chicago Cubs, as first reported Monday by FanRag Sports and confirmed by ESPN's Jayson Stark.

Chicago will send a four-player package to New York that includes top shortstop prospect Gleyber Torres, according to reports. The Yankees also will receive pitcher Adam Warren, minor league outfielder Billy McKinney and an unidentified fourth player, according to FanRag Sports and Stark.

As FanRag Sports first reported, Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner has approved the deal. Speculation circulated Monday that one reason the teams have not announced the trade is because the Cubs are attempting to sign Chapman, a free agent after this season, to a long-term deal.

Chapman told ESPN's Marly Rivera that he will be flying to Chicago on Monday. The Cubs will play the cross-town rival White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field on Monday night.

Chapman, 28, fills an immediate need in the Cubs' bullpen, as the team lacks a true left-handed late-inning reliever with his type of experience. Chapman is 3-0 with a 2.01 ERA and 20 saves for the Yankees after he served a 30-game suspension under MLB's domestic violence policy earlier this season.

Torres, a 19-year-old at Class A, will be the centerpiece going back to the Yankees. He is the Cubs' top-ranked prospect and No. 26 in baseball, according to ESPN baseball Insider Keith Law. Torres was scratched about 20 minutes before first pitch Sunday afternoon.

Chicago originally acquired Warren in an earlier trade with the Yankees that sent Starlin Castro to New York. The right-hander went 3-2 with a 5.91 ERA in 29 games this season with the Cubs.

McKinney, 21, is at Double-A. He was part of the 2014 trade that brought Addison Russell to Chicago from Oakland.