UPDATE (Dec. 7, 12:10 p.m. PT): While the Cincinnati Reds and Los Angeles Dodgers reportedly agreed to a trade early Monday morning centered around closer Aroldis Chapman, the clubs have yet to confirm the deal.
Additionally, there has yet to be indication of which prospects Cincinnati will receive in exchange for Chapman.
One explanation could be the involvement of other teams in the trade, which may result in the Dodgers not landing Chapman, via Mark Sheldon of MLB.com:
Sources saying no deal done yet for #reds and #dodgers on Chapman. I'm hearing multiple teams could be involved.
— Mark Sheldon (@m_sheldon) December 7, 2015
By multiple teams involved, meaning others could be in mix to get Chapman. #reds
— Mark Sheldon (@m_sheldon) December 7, 2015
However the trade eventually comes to fruition, the Dodgers aren’t expected to lose Jose De Leon or Grant Holmes, according to J.P. Hoornstra of the LA Daily News:
Based on what I’ve heard from baseball sources today, I don’t believe either Grant Holmes or Jose De Leon will be part of the package going to Cincinnati.
While some of it was likely at their own behest, the Los Angeles Dodgers have been in the unfamiliar position of getting passed over by free agents in recent days.
It began with relief pitcher Darren O’Day eliminating Los Angeles from consideration, and continued with Zack Greinke agreeing to a contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Having lost out on O’Day, the Dodgers reportedly turned their focus to Ryan Madson. However, Madson agreed to a three-year, $22 million contract with the Oakland Athletics on Sunday.
From there, the Dodgers’ interest in Cincinnati Reds closer Aroldis Champan resurfaced, with it quickly escalating to Los Angeles being confident in their ability to complete a trade.
That occurred Monday morning when the Dodgers and Reds agreed to a trade for Chapman, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports:
BREAKING: #Dodgers agree to acquire Chapman from #Reds for two prospects. Deal is pending review of medical records, sources say.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 7, 2015
#Dodgers’ plan, at least right now, would be to keep both Chapman and Jansen. Build strength from back of bullpen with price of SP so high.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 7, 2015
The prospects Cincinnati is receiving for Chapman aren’t believed to be Corey Seager or Julio Urias, via Jon Heyman of CBS Sports:
Chapman deal is agreed to with dodgers. 2 prospects to reds. (not seager, urias or deleon). Pending medicals
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) December 7, 2015
Chapman is arbitration-eligible and was one of three players Cincinnati tendered a contract to. He avoided arbitration with the Reds for the 2015 season by agreeing to a one-year, $8.05 million contract.
Chapman is eligible for free agency after 2016. He was named to a fourth consecutive All-Star team last season, during which he recorded 33 saves with a 1.63 ERA, 1.94 FIP and 1.15 WHIP.
Although Chapman’s strikeout rate decreased, it remained an impressive 15.7 per nine innings. He leads all relievers in WAR (10.3) since 2012, per FanGraphs. It’s a list Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen is third on.
