Aroldis Chapman trade on ice amid domestic violence probe
Sports Court: Tamara Holder and Tom Kenniff discuss what MLB knew about Cincinnati Reds closer
The proposed trade sending Cincinnati Reds closer Aroldis Chapman to the Los Angeles Dodgers appeared to be on hold Monday night after Yahoo Sports reported that police investigated an accusation of domestic violence involving the pitcher.
Yahoo reported more than a dozen police officers responded to Chapman's home in Florida on Oct. 30. His girlfriend reportedly accused him of choking her and pushing her against a wall before he allegedly fired as many as eight shots in his garage.
No arrests were made due to conflicting stories and a lack of cooperation, according to the report by the website.
Police in Davie, Florida, said they could not provide a copy of the police report on Monday night. Jay Reisinger, Chapman's lawyer, denied the allegations in the Yahoo report.
"We are aware of the situation and have commenced an investigation," Major League Baseball said in a statement.
Earlier, a person familiar with the deal said the Reds agreed to trade Chapman to the Dodgers, pending approval of medical records.
The pitcher was an All-Star in each of the last four seasons. He would join a bullpen that already has closer Kenley Jansen, who like Chapman is eligible for salary arbitration this winter and can become a free agent next November. Jansen, 28, has 80 saves during the last two seasons. He figures to be the Dodgers' setup man if he stays.
Chapman, a 27-year-old left-hander, is eligible for free agency after next year's World Series. He threw the 62 fastest pitches in the big leagues this year, ranging from 103.92 mph to 102.36 mph, according to Major League Baseball's Statcast computer system.
"We go through this at the trade deadline at the end of July and now we have a bunch of players with names out there. So it's uncomfortable enough," Reds manager Bryan Price said. "So if anything happens with any of our guys, it would be nice if it happened sooner rather than later, but that's just the nature of the beast."
After defecting from Cuba in 2009, Chapman spent the last six seasons with the Reds and saved 146 games in 164 chances. He had a 1.63 ERA this year, when he struck out 116 in 66 1-3 innings.
Seeking their first World Series title since 1988, the retooling Dodgers replaced manager Don Mattingly with Dave Roberts. Los Angeles also was closing in on deals to add free-agent pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma and to re-sign second baseman Chase Utley.
"You look at Chase Utley, the intangibles, I think he's a special player and can make our team better," Roberts said. "Iwakuma, haven't seen a whole lot, but when he's healthy, he's as good as anything. Top-of-the-rotation guy. From what I hear, he's healthy. We'll see what happens."
Roberts' mother is from Japan.
"I definitely need to brush up on my Japanese. I'm a momma's boy, self-admitted momma's boy. She's fluent in Japanese," he said. "Have to get home cooking and go back to mom and go back to Japanese 101."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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