Aroldis Chapman Is an Interesting Acquisition for the Optics-Concerned Yankees

Aroldis Chapman was traded from the Reds to the Yankees today in exchange for four minor leaguers—Caleb Cotham, Rookie Davis, Eric Jagielo and Tony Renda. Chapman, who throws gasoline, fortifies an already-stout Yankees bullpen:

The Yankees were able to get Chapman at a discount because he remains under investigation for an incident from earlier this offseason in which he was alleged to have choked his girlfriend and pushed her against a wall, and fired eight gunshots in his garage.

Though police observed no injuries and an assistant state’s attorney said there was “insufficient evidence” to charge Chapman with battery, ESPN’s Wallace Matthews reports that Chapman could be facing a suspension of up to 45 days.

Yankees GM Brian Cashman flatly acknowledged that they made the move because Chapman’s depressed value made it worth the risk: “Given the circumstances that exist, the price point on the acquisition has been modified,” he said on a conference call. “We felt this was an opportunity to add a big arm to our bullpen.”

The circumstances surrounding Chapman are very murky, and this is certainly not to say that what we know about them should prevent him from ever working again. However, it’s interesting that the Yankees are willing to take him on when they’ve always been an organization that is concerned with optics. The “Trim your sideburns” ethos began under George Steinbrenner, and has eliminated potential free agents as recently as two years ago:

Now, Wilson wasn’t then the talent that Chapman is now, but CBS noted then that “[i]n 24 games with the Dodgers after returning from his second Tommy John surgery, Wilson allowed one run total in 19 1/3 innings between the regular season and postseason in 2013. His fastball sat in the mid-90s and his slider was a wipeout pitch.”

The timing of the Chapman move—in the middle of the holiday news lull, while the Jets are surging—makes sense for the Yankees to minimize publicity. With their deficiency of starting pitchers, it makes a lot of baseball sense to make the bullpen as strong as it can be. It does seem to be a risk worth taking.