Jeff Passan: Reds sign Cuban lefty Aroldis Chapman to six-year deal (Financials TBD)

[redsmetz]

From a Toronto Star blog:

Reports on Sunday indicate that Cuban free-agent lefthander Aroldis Chapman has agreed to terms with the Cincinnati Reds on a four-year, plus an option deal that could total $30 million. The deal was first reported by Foxsports.com with details added by MLB.com. It could be announced on Monday.

The surprising contract offer by the Reds, who had remained silent throughout the process, simply means that the Jays, Angels, Red Sox, Marlins and Yankees get to stuff their money back in their pockets for other uses. The range of rejected offers was rumoured to be between $13 million (Marlins) and $23 million (Jays) all of them considered to be signing bonuses paid over four years.

If indeed the previously non-contending Reds have authorized GM Walt Jocketty to make that offer to the Hendricks brothers, it likely means that Cincinnati plans on bringing him to the majors some time during the 2010 season -- sooner rather than later. When the 22-year-old Chapman was dealing with his original agent, the inexperienced Edwin Mejia, one of the early demands that scared off many teams until the agent switch, was that the Cuban defector be brought directly to the majors. They had backed off of that demand, but if the careful Reds are willing to break the bank, they want him there now.

In addition to the Reds status as a building franchise, but immediate non-contenders is the fact that pitching in the NL, in particular the NL Central, gives Chapman his best chance at early success. Blessed with a fastball that hits the century mark, his slider and change are not major-league ready. The best course for his career would be to spend some time in the minors and emerge whenever he's ready.

Jays' fans in defeat can take solace in the fact that the process of the Chapman negotiation has demonstrated that ownership is not reluctant to spend money if the situation so warrants. In this case it was the addition of a young, talented, controllable player to go with the stockpile that they seem to be building up heading towards nine choices in the first three rounds of this June's draft.

[vaticanplum]

Here's a by region, IIRC almost 2 million of the 3.9 in the Midwest can be found in the Chicago land area

Hispanic Population by Region:
2006 Rank

West 18,864,8232
South 15,376,2153
Northeast 6,102,3144
Midwest 3,977,686

But that just shows how skewed the figures can be -- in the 2000 census, Chicago had a population of about 3 million total with Hispanics accounting for about 500K. There are surely more than that.

The actual figures are going to be hard to grab no matter where we look. I think what everyone is saying is that the Hispanic population in Kentucky and Ohio is growing fast (this is a fact) and the Reds would do well to reach out from a business perspective. This signing would be a good catalyst to start.

[lollipopcurve]

It's clear the Latin/Spanish-speaking composition of the team is far more important than the community's profile. That's what sold them on Cincinnati -- and what argues strongly for Chapman being in the bigs from the get-go, IMO.

[OnBaseMachine]

Price on Chapman
Posted by jfay January 11th, 2010, 3:59 pm

Aroldis Chapman’s first stop after his introductory press conference will be Goodyear, Ariz. There, he’ll work with pitching coach Bryan Price.

Price has seen enough to Chapman on video to know he’s got off-the-chart stuff. Price has not seen enough to figure out a game plan for Chapman.

“I have to see more of him,” Price said. “I’ve seen him throw from the center field camera. To venture to say what he needs to work on would be irresponsible. I want him to get acclimated, get used to people in the organization.”

Price’s first impressions of Chapman: “I think he has a repeatable delivery. He obviously has an electric stuff. He’s got a lanky, athletic body.”

Price, in his first year as Reds’ pitching coach, knows what kind of chance he’s getting.

“These opportunities don’t come along too often,” he said. ”Young, left-handers who throw hard are a commodity in our sport, especially ones who are around the plate.”

Chapman’s agent cited the fact that Price and Dusty Baker speak Spanish as a factor in Chapman signing with the Reds.

“The ability to communicate is important,” Price said. “That goes two ways. Not only do we want Aroldis to have the ability to understand what we’re saying. We want to know what he’s thinking. He’s not coming from a different organization. He’s coming from a different country, different way of like. Having people you’re comfortable with is important.”

http://cincinnati.com/blogs/reds/

[savafan]

John Fay's typos never cease to astound me.

[OnBaseMachine]

Reds shock everybody by signing Cuban star
By Hal McCoy | Monday, January 11, 2010, 02:02 PM

While the importation of Cuban cigars remains a no-no in the United States, the migration of Cuban baseball players continues - even though it is through defection - and that’s a good thing for the Cincinnati Reds.

The Reds stepped forward by signing 22-year-old lefthanded pitcher Aroldis Chapman to a five-year, $30 million contract, outbidding several teams with much deeper pockets.

And that’s a positive sign for Reds fans, a message that the team is trying to find ways to become competitive. While the team doesn’t have the cash reserves to play with the big boys on the free agent market for established players, this move doesn’t cost them as much to land a potential superstar pitcher who was much-coveted by teams like the Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and the Toronto Blue Jays.

IT SURPRISES ME and I’m willing to eat some crow, cooked Cuban-style. Not long ago I mentioned the December audition camp in Houston during which Chapman threw in front of several teams. One of them was the Reds, but I thought there was no chance the Reds could outbid the monied teams. They did it, coming onto the scene late, like early last week.

That’s a great step forward. Is it a gamble? Of course it is. Signing free agents always is a gamble. Ask the Chicago Cubs about Milton Bradley.

Chapman, of course, hasn’t had the experience of major-league play, but he has pitched under the excruciating pressure of playing for the Cuban National team, a team expected to win or suffer some consequences, like having privileges taken away.

Several scouts call Chapman, “A can’t miss,” and even though he isn’t ready to step into the Cincinnati rotation, he probably isn’t far away, once they sand off the rough edges. But a 100-mph fastball? And an 89-mph slider? How rough can those edges be?

EVERYBODY KNOWS that pitching rules and the Reds’ rotation already was strong, even with Edinson Volquez out at least until mid-season after Tommy John surgery. The Reds drafted pitcher Mike Leake out of Arizona State University last June as their No. 1 pick.

Homer Bailey appears to have found the formula to success, Bronson Arroyo was nearly unbeatable at the end of last season and Johnny Cueto shows immense potential. And they still await the resurfacing of Aaron Harang, who won 16 games in 2006 and 2007.

As many wise sages, most of them in baseball front offices, always say, “You can never have enough pitching.”

While it seems to be a wise investment, one wonders if there is anything left for the Reds to find a shortstop and/or a strong righthanded bat for left field (or even a strong lefthanded bat).

AROLDIS CHAPMAN de la Cruz defected last July while the Cuban team was playing in The Netherlands. He established residence in Andorra to make him eligible to sign with a U.S. team.

He tried to defect in 2008, but failed and was taken back to Havana for a meeting with Cuban President Raul Castro. Instead of punishment, Chapman was given a conditional reprieve, suspending him for the remainder of the National Series season in Cuba and also keeping him off Cuba’s national team for the Beijing Olympics. He was permitted to pitch in last year’s National Series and played in the World Baseball Classic, but successfully defected in July.

He walked out the front door of the team’s hotel in Rotterdam and scrambled into a car driven by friends and went to Andorra and eventually Major League Baseball granted his petition to be considered a free agent.

Reds general manager Walt Jocketty enjoys a fine cigar now and then, and while Cuban smokes are out of his immediate reach, he can now light up a good one and celebrate the signing of a fine Cuban pitcher.

http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs...cxtype=feedbot

[11larkin11]

#54? Wonder why he chose that. Someone should have asked, but apparently the Reds aren't allowed to have more than 5 members of the media present.

After hearing Walt, he may be on the 25 man on April 4.

He wore 52 in Cuba because of his liking of Jose Contreras. DRH has 52 and Rhodes has 53

I knew he hadn't heard of Perez, an interview I saw with him said he had heard of Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz, Alfonso Soriano, Alex Rodriguez, and "that shortstop from the Yankees".

The biggest thing I get from this press conference is WE, the FANS, need to give this kid time. If the staff (Price, Soto) view him as ready, I think we're fine. But we have to realize, he has SO much more than baseball to learn.

[11larkin11]

BTW, mlb.com and espn.com say its a 16.25 million signing bonus.

[OnBaseMachine]

Reds' rotation may see Chapman soon
Club's pitching depth takes leap with scintillating southpaw
By Mark Sheldon / MLB.com

01/11/10 3:00 PM EST

CINCINNATI -- Before the ink dried on Aroldis Chapman's six-year contract worth $30.25 million, he immediately became the Reds' top prospect and made an already optimistic future for their rotation appears even brighter.

Should Chapman reach the Majors in 2010, the Reds could have one of the youngest and toughest rotations for hitters to reckon with.

"When you look at the possibility of our pitching rotation for the next few years, including this year and beyond, with the makeup of our young players and position players, it's very exciting," Reds general manager Walt Jocketty said. "I'm very excited about our future and what this signing helps to do to improve our situation going forward."

Chapman, who turns 22 in February, will be joined by two other younger arms in Johnny Cueto and Homer Bailey. The Reds also have veteran back-to-back 15-game-winner Bronson Arroyo. Another veteran, Aaron Harang, won 32 games from 2006-07, but he struggled the past two seasons.

Cueto, who turns 24 next month, won 11 games in an up-and-down 2009 season. But after returning from right shoulder inflammation and the disabled list, he went 3-1 with a 3.63 ERA over his final six starts.

Bailey, 23, was once the top pitching prospect in the organization. After two years of rough outings and frequent round trips to Triple-A Louisville, he seemed to put it together in the second half of last season. Bailey was 6-1 with a 1.70 ERA over his final nine starts for the Reds.

And when he fully rehabilitates from Tommy John surgery on his right elbow, Edinson Volquez, 26, is expected to be back sometime in the summer. Volquez was a 17-game winner and All-Star in his first season with the Reds in 2008.

The Reds also have more pitchers in their organizational pipeline. Lefty Travis Wood finished 13-5 with a 1.77 ERA in 27 starts combined with Double-A Carolina and Louisville in 2009. Another lefty, Matt Maloney, made his big league debut last season and showed some promise.

Last summer's top two picks in the First-Year Player Draft were also starting pitchers. Right-hander Mike Leake was taken eighth overall out of college and is on the fast track to the Majors. Brad Boxberger was taken with the club's first-round sandwich pick.

The depth of pitching talent will put the Reds in a position of strength, both on the field and when exploring trades. They will also have a chance to get leaner financially, since both Harang and Arroyo are entering the final guaranteed years on their contracts.

If the club declines both options on Harang and Arroyo, it would bring a savings of $23.75 million to the 2011 payroll.

It isn't known whether Chapman will be Major League ready come April. While still needing to develop secondary pitches, he is a rare power lefty who can reach 100 mph with his fastball.

While some clubs in the bidding process identified Chapman as a potential reliever, the Reds viewed him as a starter all along.

"We feel that's where his future is," Jocketty said. "We see him as potentially being a top-of-the-rotation starter at some point."

http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/news/...=.jsp&c_id=cin

[redsfandan]

BTW, mlb.com and espn.com say its a 16.25 million signing bonus.

My understanding is that is what is spread out over 10 years which would make sense.


Am I the only one that thinks this might increase the chances of the Reds keeping Ramon Hernandez around for 2011? (so Chapman/Cueto have an easier time communicating with the catcher)

[Strikes Out Looking]

My understanding is that is what is spread out over 10 years which would make sense.


Am I the only one that thinks this might increase the chances of the Reds keeping Ramon Hernandez around for 2011? (so Chapman/Cueto have an easier time communicating with the catcher)

I hear Ryan Hannigan just bought the Rosetta Stone Spanish CD.

[_Sir_Charles_]

Okay, I was watching a video on MLB.com (http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/media...45197&c_id=cin) with Harold Reynolds talking about Aroldis...and he repeatedly referred to him as being 6 foot 10 inches tall like Randy Johnson. Is this correct? He doesn't look anywhere CLOSE to 6'10'.

[savafan]

I believe he's 6'4"

[TheBurn]

Okay, I was watching a video on MLB.com (http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/media...45197&c_id=cin) with Harold Reynolds talking about Aroldis...and he repeatedly referred to him as being 6 foot 10 inches tall like Randy Johnson. Is this correct? He doesn't look anywhere CLOSE to 6'10'.

Thought he was 6'4"

[reds44]

Is it wrong of me to want him to start in the majors this season?