If these are true, I wonder why the teams with big pockets have walked away? I acknowledge that might not be true.
If these are true, I wonder why the teams with big pockets have walked away? I acknowledge that might not be true.
“In the same way that a baseball season never really begins, it never really ends either.” - Lonnie Wheeler, "Bleachers, A Summer in Wrigley Field"
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My guess is the high budget teams are waiting for the small budget teams to make Chapman some offers, which will be fairly low. That will kind of "set the market" for him. Then the Yankees or Red Sox will swoop in and bump it up by a few million and he will accept.
If the Yankees and Red Sox show strong interest from the the beginning it will jack up his financial expectations and end up costing the team more money in the end.
Good idea, AD, and, if so, a great financial move by big pocket teams. Clever.
However, if the Reds nab Chapman, I'm guessing he's the fifth starter by the All Star break. And an absoutely sweet and fun acquisition. Chapman would be a huge gamble, but could pay major dividends especially as a BOR starter (which is my opinion of why the Marlins, A's, and Reds are in it-- they're offering major league contracts).
A week or so ago, I actually dreamed that the Reds signed Chapman. I put it down to my being off my meds.
It is on the whole probable that we continually dream, but that consciousness makes such a noise that we do not hear it. Carl Jung.
MLBTradeRumors.com -
Aroldis Chapman Decision Coming Soon?
By Mark Polishuk [January 6 at 6:56pm CST]
6:56pm: Clark Spencer of The Miami Herald tweets that internally, the Marlins have "conceded defeat" in the Chapman sweepstakes.
WEDNESDAY, 3:55pm: At least three teams are out on Chapman: the Astros, Yankees, and Mets (ESPN's Buster Olney via Twitter, and MLB.com's Brian McTaggart).
TUESDAY, 8:48pm: Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports that the Aroldis Chapman sweepstakes may be nearing a close.* According to Rodriguez, Chapman is saying that he "expects to sign within the next three or four days."* As many as 15 clubs have shown some degree of interest in the Cuban left-hander, including several small-market franchises.*
One such team, the Marlins, are particularly taken with Chapman since they hope that South Florida's large Cuban population will tempt the 21-year-old into signing at something of a hometown discount.* Rodriguez reports that the Marlins have already made a $13MM contract offer to Chapman and have now raised that offer --- a wise move given that the Red Sox have already offered Chapman $15.5MM.
The Marlins' maneuvering may be all for naught, however.* An unnamed source tells Rodriguez that the Angels and Blue Jays seem to be the favorites to sign the Cuban left-hander, and that Chapman will sign with one of the two clubs for "around $21MM."
And play where? The only other league that lends any bit of credibility to it would be the Japanese league. And once you sign with a Japanese league you are under contract and if you want to transfer to the MLB your contract has to be bought out. No American kid is going to toil away in the Mexican league or the Dominican summer league, the money just isn't there.
Drew was drafted by the Phillies and didn't sign. He went to the independent league, played a year, reentered the draft, and was drafted and signed by the Cards.
Do you really want to spend a year playing in Mexico? I mean we aren't talking about the Mexican Riviera, Cozumel, Cancun, etc. Were talking about bus rides across Mexico, playing for peanuts, staying in rat infested hotels, etc.
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