Yankees land Chapman from Reds for 4 minor leaguers

The New York Yankees added baseball's most intimidating reliever to their already loaded bullpen Monday, acquiring Aroldis Chapman from the Cincinnati Reds even as the four-time All-Star is being investigated by Major League Baseball for his reported involvement in a domestic incident.

In exchange for Chapman, who is facing a potential suspension under the league's new domestic violence policy, the Yankees will send four minor leaguers - infielders Eric Jagielo and Tony Renda, and right-handers Caleb Cotham and Rookie Davis - to Cincinnati.

Chapman, the Cuban left-hander armed with baseball's best fastball, was expected to be dealt to the Los Angeles Dodgers earlier this month, but the trade collapsed after a police report obtained by Yahoo Sports detailed an ugly domestic incident in which he fired eight gunshots in the garage of his Miami home and allegedly choked his girlfriend.

Still, even after the market for Chapman ostensibly collapsed, the Reds continued to pursue a trade for their vaunted closer, who boasts a 1.90 ERA with 145 saves over the last four seasons - third-most in the majors over that span - and the highest strikeout rate (42.9 percent) in baseball history (min. 300 IP).

Barring a suspension, Chapman will join Andrew Miller and Dellin Betances in a Yankees bullpen that tied for second in the majors in WAR in 2015, crafting a 3.70 ERA with an MLB-best 26.3 percent strikeout rate.

Chapman, who authored a 1.63 ERA with a 1.15 WHIP in 54 appearances last season, is projected to earn roughly $13 million in 2016, his final year of arbitration eligibility. He's poised to become a free agent next winter, though a possible suspension could prevent him from meeting the service-time requirements.

With a "transition year" looming in Cincinnati, meanwhile, the Reds have spent most of the offseason moving assets off their 25-man roster. The club traded third baseman Todd Frazier to the Chicago White Sox shortly before unloading Chapman, and has reportedly spent the last several weeks trying to move second baseman Brandon Phillips, as well.

Though none of the prospects acquired by Cincinnati project as future stars, all four have experience at the upper levels of the minor leagues and could contribute to the big-league club in the near future.

Jagielo was recently identified as the eighth-best prospect in the Yankees organization and enjoyed considerable success last season in his first tour of the Double-A Eastern League. Selected with the 26th pick in the 2013 draft, the 23-year-old hit .284/.347/.494 with nine homers and 16 doubles in 58 games for Double-A Trenton, and could reach the majors as soon as 2017. Renda, a second-round pick by the Washington Nationals in 2012, also spent last season in the Eastern League, hitting .269/.330/.358 with 23 stolen bases in 127 games.

Davis, who turns 23 in April, made his Double-A debut in August after spending the previous four months with High-A Tampa, where he fashioned a 3.70 ERA with a 5.83 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 19 starts and fanned 105 hitters in 97 1/3 innings. Cotham, the only one of the four with MLB experience, didn't enjoy the most auspicious debut in New York - he posted a 6.52 ERA and allowed four homers in 12 relief appearances - and has struggled in Triple-A, authoring a 4.67 ERA with a 1.46 WHIP over parts of three seasons in the International League.