Yankees acquire Cuba’s Chapman from Reds

FILE— Aroldis Chapman #54 of the Cincinnati Reds pitches during the ninth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates on October 2, 2015 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Joe Sargent/Getty Images/AFP

Hard-throwing closer Aroldis Chapman was acquired by the New York Yankees from the Cincinnati Reds in a five-player Major League Baseball trade on Monday.

The Yankees will send four minor leaguers — right-handers Caleb Cotham and Rookie Davis and infielders Eric Jagielo and Tony Renda — to Cincinnati.

Cuba’s Chapman had a 1.63 ERA in 65 appearances last season, when he led the majors with 15.74 strikeouts per nine innings.

The deal comes three weeks after a proposed trade to send Chapman to the Los Angeles Dodgers broke down after reports that police investigated an accusation of domestic violence involving the pitcher in October.

“I can tell you that obviously we completed this transaction today and to the best of our abilities, we have researched as much as we can,” general manager Brian Cashman said.

“We certainly don’t have the full extent of the MLB investigative arm but we’ve done as much due diligence on the subject at hand as we possibly can and we have completed the transaction based on a lot of that due diligence.”

According to reports, more than a dozen police officers converged on Chapman’s home in Florida on October 30.

The Florida police released a report that stated there was insufficient evidence to charge Chapman because of inconsistent stories, the absence of physical injuries and non-co-operating witnesses.

“Yes, certainly there’s some serious issues here that are in play,” Cashman said. “I acknowledged it as an area of concern and it’s certainly reflective of some of the acquisition price and there’s risk and there’s a process going to play out.”

A National League all-star in each of the last four seasons, the 27-year-old Chapman went 4-4 with 33 saves and a 1.63 ERA over 66 1/3 innings in 65 relief appearances with the Reds in 2015.

Chapman threw the 62 fastest pitches in Major League Baseball in 2015, with a high of 165 kmph (103 mph) on June 29.

Chapman is eligible for free agency after next year’s World Series.