Updated: Yankees Close to Completing Aroldis Chapman Trade

The New York Yankees are reportedly telling other MLB clubs that they are close to finalizing a trade for 28-year-old closer Aroldis Chapman.

Update 2: According to Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports, the Yankees and Cubs have a framework in place that would send 19-year-old shortstop Gleyber Torres and at least one other piece to the Yankees for Chapman. Torres is considered the team’s top overall prospect and ranked 27th on Baseball America’s midseason Top 100 list.

Update: Ken Davidoff of The New York Post says the Yankees have asked the Nationals, Cubs, Indians, and one other team to submit their best offers. Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports names the Dodgers and Giants as possible finalists. 

The Yankees may be ready to make their first big move before the August 1st trade deadline. According to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, New York has been letting other teams know they are close to completing the long anticipated trade of closer Aroldis Chapman.

Interestingly, Rosenthal also notes the Yankees are at least publicly stating they plan to hold onto fellow elite reliever Andrew Miller, who has been subject to trade rumors dating back to last offseason.

Rather than perform a complete tear down, it appears that GM Brian Cashman will continue to attempt balancing contention with rebuilding. Chapman is expected to depart as a free agent after the season, so it makes sense for the team to see what it can get for him rather than lose him for nothing.

On the other hand, Miller is controlled for another two years at a below-market rate. Even without Chapman, he and Dellin Betances will give the Yankees one of the best late-inning combinations in the sport.

There is no word as of yet as to where Chapman is heading or what the return will be, but the most discussed potential match over the past month has been the Washington Nationals. Bill Ladson of MLB.com first reported back in June that acquiring Chapman or Miller would be the team’s top priority at the deadline. 

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More recently, the Yankees were said to be scouting the Nationals’ Triple-A squad, and later, they sent a top executive to watch starting pitcher Reynaldo Lopez‘s major league debut in Washington.

On Saturday, Rosenthal speculated Washington’s package could be centered around Washington’s 2014 first round draft pick Erick Fedde, who is having a strong season in High-A and was recently ranked the 61st overall prospect in Baseball America’s midseason update.

Many contenders have been linked to Chapman at some point in the lead up to the deadline, so it’s difficult to say who else could be in the mix, or even if the Yankees have narrowed it down to one trade partner. The Giants, Cubs, Dodgers, Indians, Marlins, and Rangers have all been connected to the Cuban Missile at one point or another.

Next: Yankees Top Five Priorities at the Trade Deadline

At this point, the good news is that the Yankees are taking the sensible approach of flipping the extremely valuable Chapman for what may be a long-term building block or two, rather than just waiting for him to walk or signing him to an obscenely expensive deal after the season.