The New York Yankees, who have dominated industry chatter about the bullpen market for weeks, have traded hard-throwing closer Aroldis Chapman to the Chicago Cubs. They did so after entering Monday with a 7.7 percent chance of reaching the postseason, according to FanGraphs.com.
What, then, will become of the defending World Series champion Kansas City Royals … and their closer, Wade Davis?
The Royals have even lower odds of reaching the postseason -- 2.3 percent, according to the same FanGraphs.com calculation. In theory, Davis should bring back a similar package to what the Cubs are surrendering for Chapman, which included top prospect Gleyber Torres.
Though Davis has been less dominant than Chapman this season and has spent time on the disabled list, he is under control for 2017 on a $10 million club option. Chapman, by contrast, is eligible for free agency after this season.
The Washington Nationals, previously linked to Chapman, are among the teams that have contacted the Royals about Davis, a source confirmed Jon Heyman's report for FanRag Sports.
Because the Royals can bring back Davis for 2017, they may be more inclined to trade right-hander Edinson Vólquez, who could decline his $10 million mutual option for next year. The Texas Rangers, canvassing the Majors for starting pitching upgrades, are among the teams to inquire on Volquez, a source confirmed Evan Grant's report in the Dallas Morning News.
One consideration for Royals ownership and general manager Dayton Moore: They have the strongest local television ratings in Major League Baseball, according to a recent Forbes report. Teams often are reluctant to trade veteran players when there's evidence of a strong connection with local fans. The Philadelphia Phillies, though, are one example of a team that kept a championship-winning group together long than they should have -- and the club has yet to fully recover.