On December 15, 2016, the Yankees were the beneficiaries on both ends when they signed free agent lefty closer Aroldis Chapman for the upcoming season. They had traded the hard thrower away five months earlier for, among others, Gleyber Torres.
Other Dynamite Moves
Outfielder Dave Winfield became baseball’s highest-paid player when he signed a 10-year deal with the Yankees on December 15, 1980. Despite being eventually labeled “Mr. May” by an enraged George Steinbrenner, Dave would notch a World Series-winning hit with the Blue Jays later in his career.