Aroldis Chapman Traded to Rangers, Royals Receive Cole Ragans, Roni Cabrera

In the midst of a strong bounce-back season, Aroldis Chapman will look to shore up the Texas Rangers bullpen for the stretch run after being acquired from the Kansas City Royals.

Per the Texas Rangers PR Department, the Royals will receive left-handed pitcher Cole Ragans and minor league outfielder Roni Cabrera from the Rangers in exchange for the seven-time All-Star.

Chapman looked to be on the decline during a rough 2022 season with the New York Yankees. He had a career-high 4.46 ERA with 43 strikeouts and 28 walks over 36.1 innings in 43 appearances.

The Yankees left Chapman off their roster for the American League Division Series against the Cleveland Guardians after he missed a mandatory team workout.

Chapman was still throwing hard by normal standards in 2022, but his average fastball velocity of 97.7 mph was tied for the lowest rate of his career (2012).

Kansas City signed Chapman to a one-year prove-it deal in January as a free agent. He's looked much closer to what he did in his prime years with a 2.45 ERA and 53 strikeouts in 29.1 innings.

Even though it's a small sample of innings, Chapman's stuff has looked much better in 2023 than it has in a long time. The 35-year-old's fastball is averaging 99.4 mph, his best since 2017 (100.1 mph).

Per BaseballSavant.com, Chapman is generating groundballs 44.9 percent of the time when the opposing hitter puts the ball in play. It's his highest rate since 2018 (46.4 percent).

Opposing hitters only have a 2.0 percent barrel rate against Chapman, his second-lowest rate of the Statcast era (1.8 percent in 2016).

The Royals certainly hoped Chapman would rediscover his All-Star form and help turn them into a playoff contender this season. Things have gone well for him, but not so much for the team.

Kansas City's 23-58 record is the second-worst in MLB, ahead of only the Oakland Athletics. The rest of this season should be about evaluating players who can help the Royals in 2024 and beyond.

Chapman was going to be a free agent this winter. His age didn't make him a long-term option for the Royals. Moving on at this point allowed them to recoup future value for him, while the Rangers gets a shutdown reliever who can potentially swing a playoff series.