(Reuters) – The New York Yankees have reached an agreement for the return of hard-throwing closer Aroldis Chapman, Major League Baseball reported on its website on Wednesday.
Five months after trading the left-handed closer to the Chicago Cubs, the Yankees will bring him back with a five-year, $68 million free agent deal, the most lucrative for a reliever in baseball history. The 28-year-old is coming off a roller coaster World Series triumph in which he blew a save chance in the deciding Game Seven but ultimately got the win as the Cubs rallied to overcome Cleveland. Chapman began last season by serving a 30-game suspension at the stemming from a domestic-violence investigation. He never faced criminal charges. For the Yankees, Chapman posted a 2.01 ERA with 20 saves before being traded to the Cubs. In 28 games for Chicago he had a 1.01 ERA with 16 saves.
Chapman began his career with the Reds, who traded him to New York following the 2015 season.
(Writing by Jahmal Corner in Los Angeles; Editing by Amlan Chakraborty)
Reuters
