Yahoo’s Jeff Passan tweeted the following …
Cuban LHP Aroldis Chapman agrees to $30M deal with National League team, according to source. Left Ft. Lauderdale airport this a.m. to sign.
Could it be the Nationals?
The NL favorite has been the Marlins, but leaving from Ft Lauderdale would not seem to reconcile with a team in Miami.
We shall see.
Update: I am seeing if I can confirm if that tweet account actually belongs to Jeff Passan
Update 2: And if that is in fact Passan, he’s updated with the report it is an NL Central team
Update 3: Jon Morosi of FoxSports tweets that
Update 4: Bill Ladson reports Nationals did not sign Chapman
#1 by AndrewStebbins - January 10th, 2010 at 14:10
:)
I knew me asking yesterday was a sign of good things to come.
#2 by Dick - January 10th, 2010 at 14:12
Can’t be. Lerners are too cheap, I’ve read.
#3 by AndrewStebbins - January 10th, 2010 at 14:25
Ough. An NL Central team.
#4 by JayB - January 10th, 2010 at 14:29
This is a move they should make.
#5 by AndrewStebbins - January 10th, 2010 at 14:38
Agreed.
Hoping this is a fake Passan :(
#6 by Brian Oliver - January 10th, 2010 at 14:39
Passan has an article up at Yahoo. It’s him
#7 by Positively Half St. - January 10th, 2010 at 14:42
Oh, well. Short-term thrill. Let’s go sign a veteran or two, instead.
#8 by RD - January 10th, 2010 at 15:04
The Reds? Wow.
#9 by Todd Boss - January 10th, 2010 at 15:34
Glad its not the Nats actually. Thats a $30m gamble of the highest order. I’d rather see them spend $30m on another starter right now.
#10 by RD - January 10th, 2010 at 16:39
I don’t know. Depending on the terms of the deal … 5 years 30mill? 30 mill signing bonus? Etc. It’s a gamble I think the Nats should have taken. Im not disappointed, just saying its definitely a gamble, but its a risk worth taking.
This team is headed in the right direction, but still has a lot of needs. Why not take the gamble on greatness? 30mill is a lot of money, but in the end, could possibly end up being a steal as well.
Im not going to lose any sleep over not getting him. But I wouldnt have been upset if we took the gamble either.
#11 by Brian Oliver - January 10th, 2010 at 16:46
RD – I’m with you on Chapman. Would have been nice to have him but not going to lose any sleep.
$30M is enough of an expenditure that I don’t believe any team can realistically be accused of being cheap
#12 by Steven J. Berke - January 10th, 2010 at 18:16
If the Reds got him for $30 million, undoubtedly the Nats could have had him for that price (so could the Blue Jays, and the Yankees or Red Sox maybe for less. Worth noting that all of them backed off.)
If Chapman were in fact another Strasburg, it might have been worth considering. Both Boswell and Ben Goessling agreed in print that he isn’t, and likely they were echoing Rizzo, who took the trouble to see him in person.
#13 by TimDz - January 11th, 2010 at 12:08
IF they had signed him for that price tag, one has to wonder what B.O.P Boras would have done in regards to his client SS (not now, but several years down the road when SS approaches free agency). While he will use anything to drive up the price for his client (as any good agent should do), I think he would have used this to drive a wedge between the Nats and SS. This way, the Nats can say they didn’t “disrespect” his client (if it is actually possible to disrespect someone by signing them to a 15 million dollar contract). I do think that this underscores the need for a world wide draft.
#14 by Mark L - January 11th, 2010 at 13:31
Totally agree with TimDz.
#15 by Pilchard - January 11th, 2010 at 16:32
This signing underscores the importance of the MLB draft. SS’s contract with the Nats broke the bonus record, and the Nats essentially signed SS for half of what the Reds will pay Chapman, and the Nats (I think) hold his rights for 6 years while the Chapman deal is for 5. In addition, SS is universally considered the better prospect.
If its one or the other, would rather that the Nats back-off Chapman, and be ultra-aggressive in the 2010 draft.
#16 by BinM - January 11th, 2010 at 19:09
With CIN spending $30M on this guy, and Dusty Baker as Manager, this is going to end very badly, IMO.
#17 by Wallyball - January 11th, 2010 at 20:17
Chapman would have been exciting to add, but I agree with some of you that $30m seems like a big commitment to someone who had mixed signals from scouts, even with the potential upside that he has. Strasburg, at least, had near unanimous reports from those who scouted him, and the Nats were lucky enough to have a built in subsidy through the MLB draft.
But I would feel very excited about the Nats organization going forward even if they rarely signed a Chapman type, but they evolved into an organization that signed 5-6 international FAs in the $200-300k signing bonus range each year. Signing bonus seems like such a bad way to describe the kind of player that I mean, but I am not sure how else to say it. Guys who would be 3-5 rounders in MLB draft? A very good prospect but not the ‘can’t miss’ guy that gets the 7 figure bonus? With the development uncertainties inherent in such young kids, I would probably vote for a recurring quantity of good ones, rather than roll the dice on only 1 guy, even though he might become Grienke in 6 years. I also think that some of the guys who grade this way as a 16 yr old turn into Grienke sometimes.
#18 by Mark L - January 11th, 2010 at 20:29
I’m with you, BinM. You have to think that Dusty will be gone before Chapman hits the majors. Dusty comes from the Tommy Lasorda school of pitching management; never met an arm he couldn’t blow out! That’s one of the things I’m happy about with Rizzo; think he’s too smart to let anything happen to our young arms.
#19 by VladiHondo - January 12th, 2010 at 09:15
I would too, except this it is the “Rinse and Repeat” scenario for 2010 draft:
Draft Big Stud with 1st overall pick – then due to anticipated high $$ bonus to be paid, draft bunch of college 4-year players to sign on the cheap, draft no “tough signs” requiring above slot bonus, draft bunch of HSers late who are firmly committed to colleges to say “Hey, we DID draft HSers!” Sign none of them.
#20 by JayB - January 12th, 2010 at 10:12
Brian,
Without being negative I will try to ask again. What is your view of how the Nats have used and are currently using Winter Ball to improve skill set of their farm system and MLB roster?