Sean Doolittle & Aroldis Chapman Named Relievers of the Month

Washington Nationals relief pitcher Sean Doolittle has been voted the National League Reliever of the Month presented by The Hartford for September, and New York Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman has been voted the American League Reliever of the Month presented by The Hartford for September. The announcement was made earlier today on MLB Network.

Doolittle pitched in 11 games during September for the Nationals, converting eight-of-nine save opportunities and striking out 14 opposing batters. The crafty left-hander permitted three walks, surrendered just one home run and allowed two earned runs on six hits over 11.0 innings of work to claim his first career monthly award. Until his final appearance of the 2017 regular season on Thursday, Doolittle did not surrender an earned run in 11 consecutive appearances, dating back to August 29th.

Over the course of his impressive stretch, the 41st overall selection in the 2007 MLB Draft notched 13 strikeouts with just three walks and six hits allowed. Sean, who made his first appearance with the Nationals on July 18th, worked in 20 contests for Washington, going 1-0 with 21 saves across 30.0 innings of work. The 31-year-old veteran posted a 2.40 ERA with his new club, tallying more than one strikeout-per-inning with 31 punchouts. The Nationals, who finished the season with the second-best record in the NL with a 97-65 mark, host the defending champion Chicago Cubs at Nationals Park in Game One of the NLDS on Friday night.

Others receiving votes for NL Reliever of the Month included Hector Neris (2.57 ERA, 9 SV, 14.0 IP, 21 SO) and Edubray Ramos (1-0, 1.35 ERA, 13.1 IP, 20 SO) of the Philadelphia Phillies; All-Star Pat Neshek (1.80 ERA, 12 G, 10.0 IP, 12 SO) of the Colorado Rockies; Brad Hand (1-0, 2.38 ERA, 7 SV, 14 SO) of the San Diego Padres; Jared Hughes (2-0, 0.00 ERA, 13 G, 10.1 IP) and Anthony Swarzak (0-1, 1.72 ERA, 15.2 IP, 18 SO) of the Milwaukee Brewers; All-Star Wade Davis (1-1, 2.77 ERA, 5 SV, 21 SO), Carl Edwards (2-1, 1.50 ERA, 12.0 IP, 16 SO) and Pedro Strop (2-0, 0.00 ERA, 9.2 IP, 11 SO) of the Chicago Cubs; All- Star Kenley Jansen (1.80 ERA, 6 SAV, 10.0 IP, 16 SO) of the Los Angeles Dodgers; and Zach Duke (1-0, 2.08 ERA, 11 G, 8 SO) and Juan Nicasio (3-0, 1.46 ERA, 4 SV, 12 SO) of the St. Louis Cardinals.
     
Chapman made 11 appearances for the Yankees and converted each of his six save opportunities en route to claiming his third career Reliever of the Month Award, last winning in consecutive months for July-August, 2012. Aroldis, a four-time All-Star, did not surrender an earned run with 17 strikeouts, just two walks and three hits allowed. The hard-throwing left-hander did not permit a home run during his excellent month, retiring 36 of 41 batters faced. With his converted 1.1-inning save on September 13th, the 29-year-old logged the 200th save of his career, becoming the 49th pitcher in MLB history to reach the milestone, since the save became an official statistic in 1969. On September 19th against the Minnesota Twins, the Holguin, Cuba native recorded his 20th save of the season. Chapman joined Craig Kimbrel of the Boston Red Sox and Kenley Jansen of the Los Angeles Dodgers as the only pitchers in the Majors to reach the 20-save plateau in each season since 2012. Led by their formidable bullpen, the Yankees host the Minnesota Twins at Yankee Stadium in the AL Wild Card Game tomorrow night.

Others receiving votes for AL Reliever of the Month included Chapman's teammates Chad Green (3-0, 0.75 ERA, 12.0 IP, 17 SO) and David Robertson (3-0, 0.00 ERA, 13 G, 23 SO); Boston's Kimbrel (0.75 ERA, 4 SV, 12.0 IP, 21 SO); Brad Brach (0-1, 0.73 ERA, 1 SV, 12.1 IP) of the Baltimore Orioles; Dillon Gee (2-0, 0.00 ERA, 11.0 IP, 8 SO) of the Minnesota Twins; Mike Minor (1-0, 0.66 ERA, 6 SV, 14 SO) of the Kansas City Royals; and Ken Giles (0-1, 1.64 ERA, 7 SV, 15 SO) of the Houston Astros.

The National League Reliever of the Month presented by The Hartford, Sean Doolittle, and the American League Reliever of the Month presented by the Hartford, Aroldis Chapman, will each receive a specially designed plaque, suitably engraved, for their accomplishments. This is the inaugural season of the Reliever of the Month Awards presented by The Hartford. The Hartford, the Official Business Insurance & Employee Benefits Sponsor of MLB, has presented baseball's annual Relievers of the Year Awards since 2015. The 2017 Relievers of the Year presented by The Hartford will again be presented during the World Series.

AP source: Chapman, Yankees reach deal for $86M, 5 years

ASSOCIATED PRESS

OXON HILL, Md. (AP) — Aroldis Chapman found a spot in a most familiar bullpen — a very rich spot, too.

The hard-throwing closer reached agreement to return to the New York Yankees on Wednesday night with the highest-priced contract ever for a relief pitcher, an $86 million deal for five years.

A person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press that the contract was pending a physical. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal was not yet complete.

Once it's done, the 28-year-old lefty whose fastballs routinely top 100 mph would shatter the previous richest contract for a reliever — that was the $62 million, four-year deal Mark Melancon signed with San Francisco just a couple days ago during the winter meetings.

Chapman was acquired by New York from the Cincinnati Reds last offseason, then missed the first 29 games of the season due to a domestic violence suspension from Major League Baseball. The Cuban was traded to the Chicago Cubs in late July and helped them win the World Series, becoming a free agent when it was over.

Chapman went 4-1 with 36 saves and a 1.55 ERA in a combined 59 games for the Yankees and Cubs. He struggled some in the postseason as the Cubs beat Cleveland for their first championship since 1908.

With the Yankees this season, Chapman teamed with Andrew Miller and Dellin Betances in one of the most dominant bullpens in baseball history. Miller was later traded to Cleveland, but Betances is still with New York.

Earlier this week, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said the team was interested in both Chapman and fellow free agent closer Kenley Jansen. The Yankees had already made one deal at these meetings, signing slugger Matt Holliday, before paying a lot more to bring Chapman back to the Bronx.

Fox Sports first reported the agreement.

Cubs acquire Aroldis Chapman from Yankees,

The New York Yankees and Chicago Cubs on Monday reportedly engaged in a trade that sent a popular relief pitcher to Chicago.

The Yankees traded reliever Aroldis Chapman to the Chicago Cubs for four players.

The Yankees in return will reportedly recieve 19-year-old shortstop Gleyber Torres, the Cubs' No. 1 prospect and No. 24 overall per MLB Pipeline, outfielder Billy McKinney, right-hander Adam Warren and outfielder Rashad Crawford.

Chapman, 28, is 3-0 with 20 saves and a 2.01 ERA in 31 appearances this season, striking out 44 batters in 31 1/3 innings. He is eligible for free agency after this season, though reports Sunday afternoon indicated the Cubs wished to engage in contract extension talks before agreeing to the trade.

McKinney, 21, came to the Cubs with shortstopAddison Russell in 2014 in the deal that sentJeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel to the A's. McKinney, who ranks fifth in the Cubs' system and No. 75 overall, is hitting .252 with one home run, 12 doubles and three triples in 88 games for Double-A Tennessee this season. The left-handed hitter is a former first-round Draft pick and profiles as a left fielder in the Majors.

Warren is returning to the Yankees, with whom he began his Major League career before being traded to the Cubs this offseason for Starlin Castro. The right-handed swingman is 3-2 with a 5.91 ERA in 29 appearances this season, including one start. He was in the process of being stretched out at Triple-A Iowa for additional rotation depth.

Crawford, 22, was the Cubs' 11th-round Draft pick in 2012. He is hitting .255 with three homers and eight triples in 83 games with Myrtle Beach.