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Chicago Cubs in serious discussions on Chapman

The Chicago Cubs appeared to be in serious discussions Sunday night regarding a trade that would bring hard-throwing, but controversial, closer Aroldis Chapman to the team from the New York Yankees.

Reports say the Cubs are offering Gleyber Torres, a 19-year-old shortstop prospect, to the New York Yankees for Chapman, a left-hander who often tops 100 mph on the radar gun with his fastball.

Torres, considered a top-50 prospect in all of baseball, was scratched from the lineup Sunday night by the Cubs' Class A Myrtle Beach farm club.

Chapman, 28, is 3-0 with a 2.01 ERA, 20 saves and a WHIP of 0.89 in his first year with the Yankees after he spent part of six seasons with his original club, the Cincinnati Reds. He can become a free agent at the end of this season, and reports say the Cubs may be working on a four-year, $60 million contract extension.

Cubs president Theo Epstein was not immediately available for comment Sunday night.

Chapman would bring negative baggage to the Cubs, an organization that prides itself on valuing "character" players. He was suspended for the first 30 games of this season under Major League Baseball's domestic-violence policy for his involvement in an alleged incident in October, when he was still with the Reds.

In the alleged incident, Chapman was accused of choking his girlfriend and firing eight gunshots. No charges were filed by the police.

The Reds and Dodgers put a proposed trade for Chapman on hold, and he eventually was dealt to the Yankees.

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