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Chicago Cubs: Who won the Aroldis Chapman for Gleyber Torres Trade?

By Patrick Sheldon

CHICAGO, IL - OCTOBER 30: Aroldis Chapman #54 of the Chicago Cubs pitches in the seventh inning against the Cleveland Indians in Game Five of the 2016 World Series at Wrigley Field on October 30, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, IL - OCTOBER 30: Aroldis Chapman #54 of the Chicago Cubs pitches in the seventh inning against the Cleveland Indians in Game Five of the 2016 World Series at Wrigley Field on October 30, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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Chicago Cubs World Series
(Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

The Drought is Over

There is really only one argument for the Chicago Cubs winning this trade. However, it’s kind of a big one. The acquisition of Aroldis Chapman played a key role in the Cubs winning the World Series. Granted it was not always pretty, but Chapman performed well.

There were questions regarding whether he had been overused, and whether fatigue impacted his effectiveness. However, at the end of the day, in the 2016 playoffs, he pitched 15 2/3 innings, struck out 21 and walked 6. Additionally, in the regular season for the Cubs, he saved 16 games, struck out 46, walked 10, had an ERA of 1.01 and a WHIP of .825.

Perhaps the entire tenor of this post would be different if the Cubs lost Game 7 in extra innings, but they didn’t. Rather, they erased 108 years of pain and disappointment. For a moment, (albeit a very brief moment) fans forgot about Steve Bartman and cursed the goat that was believed to have cursed them.

The win set off a euphoric celebration in the city and raised the expectations for what would be considered a successful season in the future. For proof, look no further than Joe Cub Fan currently complaining about the “failures” of the Chicago Cubs since 2016. Despite reaching the NLCS in 2017, many fans deemed the season a “failure.” The reason being is that this team is built for the present.

Teams need to take advantage of their championship “window” and win as many World Series as possible. After all, isn’t that one of the reasons Epstein was willing to part with a stud prospect like Torres? Part of the problem is that Chapman, who is back with the Yankees, is not part of this team. So this deal was about winning in 2016 only.

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