Aroldis Chapman Can't Remember Any Details From Important Phone Call With Cubs Brass Because He Was 'Sleepy'

(CBS) The Monday phone conversation in which Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts and president of baseball operations Theo Epstein laid out team standards to and gauged the sincerity of new closer Aroldis regarding his off-the-field issues wasn't quite as meaningful or noteworthy in Chapman's mind as it was those of his new bosses.

As in, Chapman could barely recall the conversation in his introduction to the Chicago media Tuesday. Through an interpreter, Chapman said he was "sleepy" during the talk, having just woken up from a nap. His comments came a day after Epstein said, "The trade was contingent on that conversation."

The Cubs acquired Chapman from the Yankees in a five-player deal Monday. He had been suspended for the first 30 games of the season under MLB's domestic violence policy following an incident with his girlfriend last October in which Chapman fired gunshots in his garage.

"If we had not been satisfied with what we heard from Aroldis, we would not have moved forward," Epstein said Monday.

"Aroldis was really heartfelt."

After initially meeting with a large group of reporters Tuesday afternoon, Chapman -- who speaks little English and thus uses an interpreter -- later conducted a one-on-one interview in Spanish with ESPN's Pedro Gomez. Whether it was because the Cubs rounded back for some damage control or because Chapman was more comfortable speaking Spanish with fewer people around, he had remembered more details of his conversation with Cubs brass.