AL wild card game: Everyone is picking the Yankees to beat the Twins

Ervin Santana

Postseason baseball begins Tuesday night with the AL wild card game pitting the New York Yankees (91-71) against the Minnesota Twins (85-77).

As far as I can tell, there isn't a person alive who thinks the Twins are going to win this game. Consider the following facts:

• The Yankees come in red-hot, winners of 20 of their past 28 games, while the Twins were 14-14 in their past 28 games.
• The Yankees' season run differential is +198, while Minnesota's was only +27.
• New York won four out of six in the season series, including a three-game sweep in the Bronx in September.
• Minnesota starting pitcher Ervin Santana had a fine season (16-8, 3.28 ERA), but he's 6-10 lifetime against the Yankees -- and 0-5 in six starts in the current Yankee Stadium. 
• New York starting pitcher Luis Severino (14-6, 2.98) has had a breakout season, having struck out 230 in 193.1 innings this year. He's probably the third-best pitcher in the AL, behind only Cleveland's Corey Kluber and Boston's Chris Sale.
• The Twins will be without their most dangerous hitter in third baseman Miguel Sano (28 homers, 77 RBIs), who has appeared in only three games since Aug. 19 because of a left shin injury.
• The Yankees have a deep bullpen featuring no fewer than three relievers who can close in Aroldis Chapman, Dellin Betances and David Robertson.
• The Twins traded their closer, Brandon Kintzler, to the Washington Nationals at the end of July, mistakenly believing they were out of the pennant race. Minnesota has 37-year-old journeyman Matt Belisle closing games, and its best reliever is .....  ummmmm, Taylor Rogers, I guess.

Everything points to New York winning this game and advancing to the ALDS to face the Cleveland Indians. So why even watch?

Well, it's baseball, and this is a one-game playoff, not a seven-game series. Could the Twins somehow sneak a win out of the Bronx tonight? I wouldn't bet on it, but it's possible. 

Yankees acquire closer Aroldis Chapman at a bargain price

The New York Yankees made an unexpected trade Monday, acquiring closer Aroldis Chapman from the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for four minor-league players.

The move is surprising because Chapman is under investigation by Major League Baseball for an alleged domestic violence incident that involved gunshots and the choking of his girlfriend. No criminal charges were filed, but that does not mean Chapman will not be suspended under MLB's domestic violence policy. One might argue a suspension is likely, in fact, and that cloud of suspicion nixed a trade of Chapman to the Los Angeles Dodgers in early December.

Given the circumstances, it was assumed that Chapman would be impossible for the Reds to trade, but the Yankees are willing to take the risk. There are three reasons why New York would make this deal:

1. The price in prospects was not high. The Reds acquired right-handed pitchers Caleb Cotham and Rookie Davis, plus infielders Eric Jagielo and Tony Renda. Raise your hand if you've heard of any of them. I have not. These are not blue-chippers. The Yankees did not have to give up any of the crown jewels of their farm system to acquire a 27-year-old closer who has accumulated 145 saves over the past four seasons.

2. The Yankees now have a devastating back end of the bullpen that rivals, and perhaps betters, that of the world champion Kansas City Royals. Baseball's top three relievers in strikeouts per nine innings during the 2015 campaign were Chapman (15.74 Ks. per 9 IP), Andrew Miller (14.59) and Dellin Betances (14.04). All of them now play for New York. If all three of those guys are healthy and effective, how many games do you suppose the Yankees are going to blow in the seventh, eighth or ninth inning? Probably not too many.

3. New York also might luck into an extra year of team control with Chapman. Right now, the left-hander is scheduled to become a free agent after the 2016 season. But, let's say he is suspended for 40 games for the domestic violence incident. He would lose that service time, and accordingly, his free agency would be delayed until the conclusion of the 2017 season. Sure, the Yankees would lose him during the suspension, but they'd still have him closing games for the next season and a half once the suspension is over.

This trade isn't the most PR-savvy thing for the Yankees to do. They will be rightfully criticized for acquiring a player with as much off-the-field baggage as Chapman, but you can see why this move could be a steal from a purely baseball perspective.

Jose Abreu wins AL Rookie of the Year; Jacob deGrom wins NL honor

The American League Rookie of the Year voting, as expected, offered little in the way of drama.

White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu became the ninth unanimous winner in the history of the award, earning the first-place vote on all 30 balllots (150 points). Los Angeles Angels pitcher Matt Shoemaker (40 points) finished a distant second, while New York Yankees reliever Dellin Betances (27 points) placed third.

Abreu had one of the best offensive seasons ever for a rookie. He hit .317/.383/.581 with 36 homers and 107 RBIs. That's good enough to win the award just about every year, and let's face it, the competition for this honor was not particularly stong this season. It was Abreu and everybody else among AL rookies, especially after Yankees right-hander Masahiro Tanaka went down with an injured elbow midseason.

In fact, if you look at the first-half numbers, you'd have to say Abreu and Tanaka were at one point in a tight race for Rookie of the Year:

• Abreu: .292/.342/.630, 29 HR, 73 RBI
• Tanaka: 12-4, 2.51 ERA, 129.1 IP, 19 BB, 135 K

But, the injury limited Tanaka to just two starts the second half of the season. While Abreu managed just seven home runs the second half, he hit .350 and raised his overall batting average by 25 points. That made Monday's announcement a foregone conclusion.

Abreu becomes the sixth White Sox player to win Rookie of the Year. The others are Luis Aparicio (1956), Gary Peters (1963), Tommie Agee (1966), Ron Kittle (1983) and Ozzie Guillen (1985).

In the National League, New York Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom won Rookie of the Year. He picked up 26 first-place votes (142 points) and finished comfortably ahead of Cincinnati Reds outfielder Billy Hamilton (92 points). St. Louis Cardinals infielder Kolten Wong (14 points) was third.

The 26-year-old deGrom had a monstrous second half, compiling a 1.99 ERA in his final 15 starts. For the season, he finished 9-6 with a 2.69 ERA. He recorded 144 strikeouts in 140 innings.

Jose Abreu named the Sporting News AL Rookie of the Year

White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu on Monday was named the AL Rookie of the Year by the Sporting News. This award is voted on by players, and Abreu received 149 of 160 votes in a landslide victory.

The honor comes as no surprise. This year, Abreu became the first major league rookie to rank in the top five in each of the Triple Crown categories -- average (.317), home runs (36) and RBIs (107).

He led the league with a .581 slugging percentage and became the fourth player ever to top 30 home runs, 30 doubles and 100 RBIs in his rookie season. The other names on that list are Hal Trosky, Ted Williams and Albert Pujols.

Angels pitcher Matt Shoemaker finished second with four votes. Yankees pitchers Dellin Betances and Masahiro Tanaka tied for third with three votes each. Amusingly, White Sox infielder Marcus Semien finished fifth with one vote.

Semien spent about half the season at Triple-A Charlotte, so you have to wonder which knucklehead player submitted that vote.