CHICAGO -- Star closer Aroldis Chapman joined the Cubs on Tuesday, arriving to a mixed reaction in Chicago and saying he couldn't remember what management told him about off-field expectations and behavior.
When the Cubs announced the trade with the New York Yankees on Monday, the team released a statement from Chairman Tom Ricketts saying they were aware of his 29-game suspension to begin the season under Major League Baseball's new domestic violence policy.
Ricketts said he and president of baseball operations Theo Epstein talked by phone with Chapman before the deal was completed and "shared with him the high expectations we set for our players," adding that Chapman was "comfortable" with them.
But when asked repeatedly about that phone conversation before Tuesday's game against the crosstown White Sox, Chapman said through an interpreter that he couldn't recall details because he was taking a nap at the time the call came in.
The question was asked several more times. A Cubs spokesman once asked the question himself to the interpreter, coach Henry Blanco.
"It's been a long day," Chapman said. "Trying to remember."
Asked again several minutes later during the group interview whether he could now remember what Ricketts said, Chapman shook his head.
"I still don't remember," he said in Spanish.
Chapman was accused of choking his girlfriend and firing eight gunshots in the garage of a Florida home in October. The woman later changed her story and no charges were filed.
"You learn from the mistakes that you make," Chapman said.
The 28-year-old Cuban converted 20 of 21 save chances for New York.
The Cubs have long boasted of stocking their roster with high-character players, helping earn the "lovable losers" label they've carried for decades since their last World Series title in 1908.
The Cubs sent four players to the Yankees, including shortstop prospect Glibber Torres, to get one of the game's top relievers. Epstein said they wouldn't have made the deal if not for the phone call with Chapman.
Sports on 07/27/2016