After six years in New York Yankees pinstripes, hard-throwing reliever Aroldis Chapman found himself on the move this off-season. The 35-year-old lefty joined the Kansas City Royals on a one-year, $8.75 million deal — with $3.75 million in guaranteed money.
Throwing alongside another nasty left-hander in Amir Garrett, Chapman has rediscovered the stuff that once made him one of baseball's elite relievers.
Through 14 appearances, Chapman has a 2.84 ERA to go with 20 strikeouts. This is a major improvement from the latter portion of his tenure in New York.
Chapman battled control issues during his last two seasons with the Yankees, walking 66 batters across 92.2 innings pitched and losing the trust of Yankee management.
But the veteran seems to have squashed those problems this year, dropping his walk rate to 4.4 walks per nine innings while re-upping his strikeout rate.
Unfortunately for Chapman, the rest of the Royals team has not played at the same level. Kansas City currently sits in last place in the AL Central with a dismal 10-27 record.
As one of the team's standout players and with just a one-year contract, Chapman becomes a primary trade candidate for the Royals.
Here are the three teams that can get the most use from this flame-throwing reliever.
Three best trade destinations for Aroldis Chapman
Milwaukee Brewers
The Brewers opted for youth over experience in their bullpen this year, opting for the talented but unproven arms of Peter Strzelecki and Rule 5 draft pick Gus Varland over veteran hurlers Brad Boxberger and Brent Suter.
So far, this unit has been surprisingly solid — posting a 3.64 ERA with six wins and three losses. Still, Milwaukee can use a secondary closing option, as Devin Williams is a perfect 5/5 on save opportunities while the rest of the team is 4/9.
On a team that relies on its starting pitching to establish leads, Chapman would be the perfect veteran option out of the bullpen to help the Brewers in close contests.
Baltimore Orioles
Speaking of blown saves, the Orioles have eight of them in 18 opportunities. Felix Bautista is a bit unlucky to have three blown saves considering his ERA sits at 1.59.
Outside of Bautista and Yanier Cano — who has yet to allow a run in 17.2 innings pitched — late-inning relief has been inconsistent for the Orioles.
Danny Coulombe, Logan Gillaspie, and Bryan Baker have failed to secure a save across their five combined attempts, and this trio has one total save across their MLB careers.
The Orioles rank top five in relief ERA, but just can't teach the ability to get big outs in the ninth inning. Aroldis Chapman is an ideal addition to this inexperienced relief corps.
Atlanta Braves
The closer situation in Atlanta has been dicey through the first five weeks of the season. A.J. Minter has earned seven saves, but has also blown two saves and been charged with three losses. His ERA currently sits at 7.13.
Overall, the Braves bullpen has secured 10 saves in 18 opportunities — a less-than-ideal rate of 56%.
Raisel Iglesias, the defacto closer before missing time with a shoulder issue, is finally back and should start to see some save chances come his way before fully resuming his closing duties.
The Braves are not afraid to make in-season trades, especially for big-name bullpen arms, and Chapman solidifies an area that has been a surprising weakness for the World Series contenders so far.
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