Aroldis Chapman petitions for free agency

The Cuban defector has finally filed for free agency. It shall be known in the next week if/when he's available for teams to begin bidding on him.

Pitcher Chapman Awaits MLB Ruling

Most likely too rich for Cincinnati's blood. What say the crowd? Worth investing in?

Id rather spend money on a Harden or Brandon Webb depending on the prices obviously.

He's the kind of guy that the small market teams have to avoid. He could be great, or he could be a $100 version of Jose Contreras. If the Yanks, Sox, Angels, Mets miss on a big ticket player, they have the funds to cover it up. If a team like the Reds blows it on a contract like this it'll ruin them for years.

Not surprisingly, the Yanks and the Red Sox are the most interested!

No thanks. Let the Yanks or some other team with a ton of money to spend go after the guy.

I'm actually of a different mindset, IF we had the right people at WBC to scout him. We have invested heavily in the latin market the last couple of years. I think this might be a solid rediversion of those funds for a couple of years, coupled with some of the funds from ML level. I haven't seen the guy, but if he is really well developed and the scouts say he is worth the money, I'd make a run at him. Imagine the payoff if this guy is as advertised for the ML rotation in 2011 with him, Cueto, Bailey and Volquez anchoring things. With a fastball of 102, he could also always be a closer if he doesn't work out as a starter.

Don't know how high I'd be willing to go, but I would at least throw my hat into the ring if I was the Reds. Depends on what the scouts say. I like the risk better than any of the ML SP options in the market this offseason, other than maybe Brandon Webb, who is a big risk in his own right.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by buckeyenut

I'm actually of a different mindset, IF we had the right people at WBC to scout him. We have invested heavily in the latin market the last couple of years. I think this might be a solid rediversion of those funds for a couple of years, coupled with some of the funds from ML level. I haven't seen the guy, but if he is really well developed and the scouts say he is worth the money, I'd make a run at him. Imagine the payoff if this guy is as advertised for the ML rotation in 2011 with him, Cueto, Bailey and Volquez anchoring things. With a fastball of 102, he could also always be a closer if he doesn't work out as a starter.

Don't know how high I'd be willing to go, but I would at least throw my hat into the ring if I was the Reds. Depends on what the scouts say. I like the risk better than any of the ML SP options in the market this offseason, other than maybe Brandon Webb, who is a big risk in his own right.

---

Peter Gammons said many scouts wonder if he is the Latin version of John Rocker. He has had problems with authority and his pitching coach. They wonder if he is a starter or possibly a middle reliever. Gammons said he is around a $40M huge gamble.

heh