Aroldis Chapman became one of the most dominant closers in baseball with the Cincinnati Reds. The trade return the Reds received for Chapman, however, hardly reflected that dominance.
Now, the New York Yankees have reportedly flipped Chapman into a much better four-player trade haul than the four-player trade return the Reds received.
The Yankees purged essentially unwanted players in the trade for Chapman with the Reds. None of the four are poised to ever have much impact for the Reds.
Adam Warren returned to the Yankees in the Chapman trade to the Chicago Cubs. Warren has two years left of arbitration eligibility. He sports a career 3.66 ERA in 324.1 big league innings.
The equivalent to Warren for the Reds is Caleb Cotham, who is 28 years old like Warren. Cotham has a 7.15 ERA in 34 major league innings. Cotham’s big league future is limited at best.
The Reds received a former first-round draft pick from the Yankees for Chapman in Eric Jagielo. At age 24, Jagielo is hitting .218 at Double-A with a .652 OPS in 309 plate appearances. He has a .902 fielding percentage in 48 games at third base.
The Yankees also received a former first-round draft pick in the Chapman trade to the Cubs. Billy McKinney is a 21-year-old left-handed hitter currently playing Double-A. He has .281/.364 numbers and primarily plays right field.
The Reds received Tony Renda, who is now 25 years old. Renda split 2016 so far between Double-A and Triple-A. Renda has a .290/.360 minor league slash with doubles power. He’s primarily a second baseman with limited experience in left field.
The Yankees received a 19-year-old, top prospect for Chapman. Gleyber Torres is currently in High-A. His starter upside far exceeds the decent minor league numbers of Renda.
The only edge the Reds may have over the Yankees in trading Chapman is Rookie Davis. The 23-year-old prospect has a 2.68 ERA in 16 Double-A starts and could be in the Reds’ rotation in 2019.
But even then, the 22-year-old center fielder the Yankees received in Rashad Crawford might prove to have more major league impact than any of the suspects the Reds received besides Davis.
Robb Hoff writes about the Cincinnati Reds for OutsidePitch MLB. You can follow him on Twitter and Facebook.
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