UPDATE: The deal is believed to be held up because Chapman was allegedly involved in a domestic dispute with his girlfriend back in October, according to Jeff Passan and Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports.
The MLB is still weighing its decision regarding domestic violence cases surrounding Colorado Rockies SS Jose Reyes and Los Angeles Dodgers OF Yasiel Puig, so Chapman's case could be the league's third this offseason alone.
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UPDATE: The deal is not done and the Dodgers may lose out on Chapman.
Sources saying no deal done yet for #reds and #dodgers on Chapman. I'm hearing multiple teams could be involved.
— Mark Sheldon (@m_sheldon) December 7, 2015
By multiple teams involved, meaning others could be in mix to get Chapman. #reds
— Mark Sheldon (@m_sheldon) December 7, 2015
Not sure what to make of this. But Reds telling teams they haven't yet agreed to trade Aroldis Chapman to LA. I don't think Dodgers agree
— Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) December 7, 2015
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UPDATE: The deal is being finalized.
Industry source confirms Chapman deal from #reds to #dodgers in place with clubs still finalizing the details.No club confirmation yet
— Mark Sheldon (@m_sheldon) December 7, 2015
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The Los Angeles Dodgers may have missed out on some of the best starters in the MLB, but they are rumored to be acquiring one of the league's top closers.
Aroldis Chapman is heading to the Dodgers in exchange for two prospects and is pending the review of medical records, according to FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal.
#Dodgers' plan, at least right now, would be to keep both Chapman and Jansen. Build strength from back of bullpen with price of SP so high.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 7, 2015
Chapman deal is agreed to with dodgers. 2 prospects to reds. (not seager, urias or deleon). Pending medicals
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) December 7, 2015
At this point nothing else is known. The Dodgers have long been linked to Chapman in trade rumors despite already having Kenley Jansen as their closer. Last night rumors suggested the two sides were progressing on a deal and that there was "growing confidence" on the Dodgers' end that a trade would be completed.
Chapman, 27, is entering his final season of arbitration eligibility and is expected to earn $12.9 million, according to MLBTradeRumors.com. The rebuilding Reds have little use for such an expensive closer while the Dodgers need to stablilize their bullpen, which ranked 19th in ERA this past season and blew 21 saves.
Chapman finished 4-4 with a 1.63 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 33 saves and 116 strikeouts in 65 games (66 1/3 innings) with the Reds in 2015.
However, this could create a problem in LA, specifically regarding Jansen, who is entering a contract year and would likely have his value suffer if Chapman were to take over as closer.
Players who know Jansen do not believe he would react well if he lost closer's job with #Dodgers set to acquire Chapman. Stay tuned.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 7, 2015
The Dodgers have been active this weekend, having reportedly signed Chase Utley (one year, $7 million) and starter Hisashi Iwakuma (three years, $45 million). This is only the beginning of the Winter Meetings, and based on their activity last year, many more deals could be on the way.
Stay tuned for more updates regarding the players going back to Cincinnati.
