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

[mth123]

Originally Posted by Highlifeman21

Trade Arroyo.

Go get a legit SS.

I want Arroyo and Harang in the rotation in 2010 to eat innings while Bailey and Cueto continue to grow up. With Maloney as a placeholder and Volquez, Chapman and Leake all possibly ready in 2011, and guys like Owings, Klinker and Lecure as disaster options, I'm thinking Travis Wood becomes expendable.

[Highlifeman21]

Originally Posted by KoryMac5

Cueto, Volquez, and Chapman= Latino HEAT!

Eddie Guerrero's rolling over in his grave.

[Mario-Rijo]

Originally Posted by D-Man

The skeptic in me is tempered by the prospects of a 21-year-old kid throwing 102. . . More often than not, guys throwing 100 at age 21 end up throwing 85 by age 25. He still has the injury gauntlet to overcome too, and the total cost of his contract is ~60 percent greater than Strasburg's (a hard-thrower with considerably more polish).

Nevertheless, I'm giddy. This is the perfect move for this club, given its lack of top-shelf talent and where it resides in the contention cycle.

Ditto on the skeptical side of things. But fortunately we have folks here on RZ who can explain what a good contract/value deal is in this day of massive deals that all seem to rich. And so I feel pretty good about it for that reason, just going to try to contain my excitement for when he polishes up a bit and is ready to take the grand stage of GABP.

Walt your not off my hook yet but this is about as good a start as possible.

[cincinnati chili]

Originally Posted by BrooklynRedz

I don't really see the risk here. Best case scenario, Chapman outperforms the contract in years 4-6. Worst case scenario, the Reds shift him to the closer role after Coco. At $6M, this is still a value and will be seen as such by contending clubs (if the Reds should fall out).

You know better than that.

The worst case scenario is that he gets hurt in the minors and never throws a pitch in major leagues or that he pulls a Len Bias during the post-signing parties.

A more plausible worst case scenario is that he becomes a left-handed Daniel Cabrera type (basically worthless in most of his appearances because he can't find the strike zone). Look at one of the earlier posts that contained Clay Davenport's article. Cuban baseball pretty much resembles high-A ball, and the guy has dominant strikeout numbers but not dominant control numbers. Most of his "comparables" were colossal failures in professional ball.

That said, it's not my money so I naturally love the move. I would love for the Reds to be able to work with him, be patient, keep him in the minors until 2012 if necessary and turn him into something special. At this point, he's more carnival freak than major league asset.

I suspect this signing will accelerate talk of a world wide draft. Strasburg is much more polished than this guy, but got half as much guaranteed money. It goes to show what can happen when you can negotiate with 30 teams instead of one.

[OnBaseMachine]

Imagine if the Reds could stay in contention until August and then get Volquez back from injury and call up Chapman assuming he's not already in the majors by then.

[Cyclone792]

Originally Posted by OnBaseMachine

Imagine if the Reds could stay in contention until August and then get Volquez back from injury and call up Chapman assuming he's not already in the majors by then.

Don't tease me, OBM.

BTW, if the Reds ever figure out how to contend annually, you're gonna have to relocate to Cincy, my man!

[11larkin11]

Originally Posted by OnBaseMachine

BTW, Jeff Passan is one of the best in the business. He did a excellent job of nailing this story. Kudos to Jeff. I enjoy reading his material.

Passan IS the best in the business. When I saw he reported it, I knew it was true. He has great sources and his articles are great. Definitely the best.

[BearcatShane]

It's funny, yesterday I was thinking to myself(Ok, actually talking out loud to myself) that the Reds need to make a splash but I know they won't. Thanks for proving me wrong Walt/Cast. I haven't seen the guy pitch but from everything I read he sounds like a fantastic signing. Most Reds fans won't be very excited about this for a while because quite frankly 90% of Reds fans aren't nearly as big of fans as the posters on this forum. But once he starts lighting up AA/AAA the hype will come. A shortstop and a power hitting left fielder wouldn't hurt either.

[Highlifeman21]

Originally Posted by mth123

I want Arroyo and Harang in the rotation in 2010 to eat innings while Bailey and Cueto continue to grow up. With Maloney as a placeholder and Volquez, Chapman and Leake all possibly ready in 2011, and guys like Owings, Klinker and Lecure as disaster options, I'm thinking Travis Wood becomes expendable.

Keep Travis Wood (I never thought I'd type that), trade Matt Maloney (I'm sure I've typed this many times over).

[11larkin11]

Originally Posted by Highlifeman21

Keep Travis Wood (I never thought I'd type that), trade Matt Maloney (I'm sure I've typed this many times over).

I'd keep both. All but Chapman are righties. Lefties with great changes could come in handy at the front of the bullpen, along with DRH.

[mth123]

Originally Posted by Highlifeman21

Keep Travis Wood (I never thought I'd type that), trade Matt Maloney (I'm sure I've typed this many times over).

But Maloney won't bring anything back. Wood could be a key piece in a package for an actual good player.

[OnBaseMachine]

Originally Posted by Cyclone792

Don't tease me, OBM.

BTW, if the Reds ever figure out how to contend annually, you're gonna have to relocate to Cincy, my man!

You ain't kidding. My plan is to move to Cincy sometime in the next few years. I love everything about the city - the Reds, the food is delicious, the girls are beautiful.

[Highlifeman21]

Originally Posted by RedLegSuperStar

So who potentially gets DFA'd?

My group: Sam LeCure, Jordan Smith, or Drew Sutton

Willy Taveras

[Highlifeman21]

Originally Posted by mth123

But Maloney won't bring anything back. Wood could be a key piece in a package for an actual good player.

I mean if trading Wood gets us a guy who's MOR (middle of rotation) as opposed to BOR, then sure, it makes sense.

If we're trading Wood for a BOR, then the move doesn't make sense, IMO.

I know the Reds have offensive woes, but if we're trading pitching, I hope we're getting better pitching in return. I know, pipe dream.

[OnBaseMachine]

Originally Posted by 11larkin11

I was thinking about the Marketing possibilities. Chapman seems like a guy who truly loves the game (youtube his interview with Jorge Arangure) and wants to be a star. I think we can market him and he could make a lot of his money that way. It will take awhile due to the language, but I'm sure he will want it. This kid is the definition of a Superstar in the Making.

Yep, great story. Here's the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjbAYAeb7xc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5Bv9...eature=related