From Jose Arangure Jr. (ESPN), we learn that prized Cuban prospect Aroldis Chapman is in New York today to meet with officials from several teams, including the Yankees. Arangure considers the Yankees and the Red Sox the primary suitors for Chapman and believes that he will receive a deal in the $40-60 million range (a lot of money, yes).
You can read more about Chapman, here.
Props to MLBTR
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ROFL… I basically copied and pasted this in the off topic section a few hours ago…. Sorry I had no idea that you were planning on doing anything on it…
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Walter R Almaguer Reply:
October 21st, 2009 at 7:07 pm
Hi guys,well i can confirm that Chapman is 21 years old, just because he is from my hometown (Holguin) in Cuba, and if he is keeping the official Cuban passport no problem about that. He has a big future in his hands,but mainly in his brain, Cuban players, specially pitcher, are really naive ,in Cuban baseball the strike zone is really small, that force many pitchers throws basically in the “danger zone”, i think he should stay for a few months in minors then start a rotation, if he learn how manage his repertory, Yankees,Red Sox,etc will have a good lefty in their staff… a pleasure
Walter
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The other Chris H Reply:
October 21st, 2009 at 7:16 pm
Actually it will take quite a bit longer than a few months… in fact he probably won’t be able to join even the Pirates rotation for at least a year, the kid has no control on a fluctuating fastball, the bare basics of a slider and no change up. It will take him a full year in Scranton to even start getting his secondary pitches down to the point he can be highly successful in that league let alone the majors. I don’t doubt he could have a bright future but you seem a little under informed on how far along “a pitcher” he is… right now Joba is 10X better and he is throwing 91.
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I say if you can see his passport (reports are you can) and you can confirm his age to be 21 (reports are he has the original Cuban birth certificate) then I say offer him a contract around 5 years 40 million maybe 45 but I wouldn’t go any higher than that and even then you are talking about a guy with one pitch and needs at least one year in the minor leagues maybe even 2 so it’s a risk.
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Steve S. Reply:
October 21st, 2009 at 6:24 pm
Yeah, someone investigated the Times piece and found the stuff about him being older was hearsay. Cuba is a Communist country, and if Socialists do anything well, it is keeping good records.
I have no doubt he’s 21 years old, but have major doubts about what kind of MLB pitcher he will be. He’s very raw.
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Steve S. Reply:
October 21st, 2009 at 6:27 pm
Now I remember, it was someone over at Baseball America who researched the NY Times story (John Manuel?) and found the source was the result of a miscommunication. I did a piece on that story when it broke, but I have a headache and am too lazy to look it up. Search my name and Chapman and it will come up, if anyone wants to confirm.
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The other Chris H Reply:
October 21st, 2009 at 6:28 pm
Yeah he’s raw but throwing 100 he could be at worst a very expensive bullpen piece but if his slider comes along he could be a very good 2 or 3 pitcher with his stuff, I think you have to take the risk and see if better training facilities and better coaches can make him an MLB starter… after Igawa whats the harm?
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Steve S. Reply:
October 21st, 2009 at 6:40 pm
“after Igawa whats the harm?”
That’s an awful reason get him. It’s like blowing 40 grand on a used car, finding out it was a lemon, and saying ‘why not blow another 40 on another questionable car?’
I’ll trust the Yankee talent evaluators on this one. If they pass, then I’ll assume they see something they don’t like. I’m not going to get too excited if they land him, or too down if they don’t.
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The other Chris H Reply:
October 21st, 2009 at 6:46 pm
It’s really not even close to your analogy sorry but that just doesn’t fly! It’s not a reason to go get him it’s a reason to not be shy about it because obviously failing on a foreign born player isn’t the end of the world… and basically what I meant was he can’t be any worse than Igawa so go for it.
I’m saying after Kei Igawa failed and it obviously didn’t hurt the team you know you can afford the risk, the difference in the two is Igawa failed as a starter but doesn’t have bullpen type stuff so he is waste, if Chapman doesn’t pan out as a starter you have someone with a good fastball and you just develop the slider to be good enough and groom him to close.
I imagine they have evaluated and want him!
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3acJkwmRP0
It’s not much but it’s the best video out there on Chapman… I have watched it a couple of times and he has some problems to work out but his fastball is unmistakably very fast and he has the makings of a slider (it’s not there but at times it looks close than I had heard) who really knows what he can be but there are simple things he can do with a better pitching coach I can see that will help improve immediately
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I would much prefer to invest the money in a known commodity, be it John Lackey or Matt Holiday, who is a far better bet to help the team in the immediate future and fro sdeveral years down the road. And, yes, since even the Yankees have a budget, it may well come down to choosing.
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That seems like a lot of money for a guy that may not even be able make the majors for some time. For the same money you could sign how many Montero’s, Matteo’s etc…
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Buyer Beware. Jose Contreras came in with the exact same hype, almost to the word. He throws 100mph!! Cuban pitchers only throw 4-seamers, though. By the time Contreras learned how to throw a decent 2-seamer, he was 92-93mph. Not to say this kid will be the same deal, but be very careful.
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The other Chris H Reply:
October 22nd, 2009 at 6:13 pm
Contreras was also in his 30s when he came to America not 21, huge difference in the development and stages of there careers.
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