Rangers acquire once-dominant closer Aroldis Chapman from Royals

The Texas Rangers acquired seven-time MLB All-Star and World Series Champion reliever Aroldis Chapman in a trade with the Kansas City Royals on Friday, adding a once-dominant closer to their bullpen as the AL West leaders chase their first division title in seven years.

The 35-year-old Chapman wasn’t of much use to the last-place Royals, where the left-hander landed this season after a six-year stint with the New York Yankees (2017-22). Just before that, he split 2016 between the Yankees and the Cubs, helping Chicago win its first World Series championship in 108 years.

The Texas bullpen has been hot and cold while the Rangers have spent most of the season in first place coming off six consecutive losing seasons.

Chapman had two saves in 31 appearances for Kansas City, which is buried in last in the AL Central, more than 10 games behind the fourth-place Chicago White Sox. He posted a 2.45 ERA with 53 strikeouts in 29 1/3 innings with the Royals. 

The Cuban reliever who routinely tops 100 mph has seen a slight uptick in velocity this season. Chapman has averaged 101.65 mph on his sinker, up from 100.25 last year. His fastball average is 99.61 mph, up from a career-low 97.46 in 2022.

Chapman broke into the majors with Cincinnati in 2010 and pitched for the Reds through 2015. He is 24th on the career saves list with 317, but has just one season with 30 since 2020. He drifted in and out of the closer role late in his career with the Yankees.

This was the Rangers' first move ahead of the Aug. 1 deadline. 

Kansas City gets left-hander Cole Ragans, who had been called up from Triple-A Round Rock earlier Friday, and minor league outfielder Roni Cabrera.

Ragans, who was the Rangers' first-round draft pick in 2016, has appeared out of the Rangers' bullpen this season but is viewed as a long-term starter, according to MLB.com. The 25-year-old boasts a career 3.64 ERA in the Minors and has had Tommy John surgery twice.

Cabrera signed with the Rangers out of the Dominican in 2022. The 17-year-old has a 1.075 OPS with one home run and 10 RBIs in 54 at-bats for the Rangers' Dominican Summer League team.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.