Spork Ep. 57: The Ultimate Rental – What If the Cubs Never Traded for Aroldis Chapman?

It is the most stressful, high-stakes rental in modern baseball history. In July 2016, the Chicago Cubs traded away top prospect Gleyber Torres to the New York Yankees for three months of a triple-digit fastball. Aroldis Chapman blew saves, threw his arm out, and gave up one of the most famous home runs in World Series history to Rajai Davis—but ultimately, the Cubs won Game 7 and broke a 108-year curse. Was it worth it? Absolutely.In this episode of Spork, we pull the thread on the 2016 trade deadline. We break down the sheer desperation of a historic franchise on the brink of a championship and explore how the entire landscape of Major League Baseball alters if Chicago decides the asking price for the Cuban Missile is just too high.In this episode, we discuss:The Verdict on the Rental: Why flags fly forever. Even though Chapman went straight back to the Yankees in free agency that winter, we debate why this remains a definitive "yes" for Chicago—because without his high-wire act, they don't break the curse.Could the Cubs Have Won Without Him? We look at the 2016 Cubs bullpen depth chart. We break down why the answer is a resounding no, and how Game 5, Game 6, and Game 7 look vastly different without Chapman anchoring the back end.The Alternate Destinations: If the Cubs pass, where does Chapman go? We look at the major 2016 contenders who were aggressively hunting bullpen help—the Nationals, the Dodgers, and the Cleveland Indians themselves.The Cleveland Bombshell: What happens if Cleveland swings the trade to pair Chapman with Andrew Miller? We explore how that single move likely flips the entire 2016 World Series on its head.The New York Perspective: Why this historic "what if" has surprisingly zero negative impact on the Bronx. The Yankees successfully jumpstarted their rebuild with Gleyber Torres and still got Chapman back in the Bronx by December anyway.As always, send any questions/comments/concerns/feedback to [email protected]