AL West-leading Rangers acquire once-dominant closer Aroldis Chapman in a trade with the Royals

Updated Jun. 30, 2023 8:33 p.m. ET

Associated Press

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Aroldis Chapman is headed to the Texas Rangers in a trade after smoothing out his rough ending with the New York Yankees by impressing teammates and the front office during a brief stay with the Kansas City Royals.

The AL West leaders acquired Chapman from the Royals on Friday, adding a once-dominant closer to their bullpen as Texas chases its first division title in seven years.

The 35-year-old Chapman wasn't of much use to the last-place Royals, where the left-hander landed this season following a six-year stint in New York. Just before that, he split 2016 between the Yankees and Cubs, helping Chicago win its first World Series championship in 108 years.

Kansas City gets left-hander Cole Ragans, who had been called up from Triple-A Round Rock earlier in the day, and minor league outfielder Roni Cabrera.

Chapman drifted in and out of the closer role late in his New York tenure, and his final season with the Yankees last year was difficult.

The seven-time All-Star spent time on the injured list with Achilles tendinitis early in the season, then lost the closer job to Clay Holmes.

Chapman was on the IL again in August for a leg infection after getting a tattoo before missing a mandatory team workout for the playoffs and being left off the Division Series roster.

“I won’t get into specifics, but I will say we did a very extensive amount of background work,” Rangers general manager Chris Young said. “We’re very comfortable with the person and certainly the player.”

Chapman's time with the Royals amounted to a rehab stint — his image as much as his pitching. Chapman allowed one earned run in nine one-inning appearances in June with 20 strikeouts. He is 4-2 with two saves in 31 outings and has 53 strikeouts in 29 1/3 innings.

“I think what we’re seeing is a pitcher who is really back to the way he pitched a couple of years ago,” Young said. “The fastball’s electric. He’s really, really tough to hit. We think he fits a need in our bullpen in terms of a swing and miss and being able to pitch leverage at the back of the bullpen.”

Chapman signed a $3.75 million, one-year contract with the Royals in January and can earn another $5 million in performance bonuses as part of the deal. The Rangers will be responsible for $1.9 million in salary plus any bonuses.

Kansas City didn't figure to be a fit for Chapman for long because the Royals weren't expected to contend and haven't. They trail the fourth-place Chicago White Sox by more than 10 games in the AL Central.

“I think it was just a matter of the timing of when we thought we'd get the right return,” Royals general manager J.J. Picollo said. “Injuries are a factor. If you trade a guy or don't trade a guy and he gets hurt, you risk the value of the player. He's just thrown so well we had an opportunity to make a move sooner than later.”

While the Texas bullpen has been hot and cold, lefty Will Smith has been reliable as the closer since the Rangers settled on him in late April. He entered Friday with 14 saves in 15 chances.

Coming off six consecutive losing seasons, the Rangers turned into contenders right away under first-year manager Bruce Bochy. Now they are buyers a month before the trade deadline by adding Chapman.

“We plan to use him similar to what Kansas City has done,” Young said. “We’ll be sort of matchup-based to start and see how it evolves.”

The Cuban reliever who routinely tops 100 mph has seen a slight uptick in velocity this season. Chapman has averaged 101.65 mph on his sinker, up from 100.25 last year. His fastball average is 99.61 mph, up from a career-low 97.46 in 2022.

Chapman broke into the majors with Cincinnati in 2010 and pitched for the Reds through 2015. He is 24th on the career saves list with 317, but has just one season with 30 since 2020.

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AP Baseball Writer Ronald Blum in New York and AP Sports Writer Dave Skretta in Kansas City, Mo., contributed to this report.

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