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Reds sign Chapman for $30M

Posted by Chris H. at 2:29 pm 18 Responses »
Jan 102010

Via MLBTR, from Jeff Passan (Yahoo! Sports) we learn that Aroldis Chapman has signed a 5-year, $30 million deal with an NL Central club. Passan speculates that the Reds, who have never really been linked to Chapman outside of today, might be the team, as Chapman is actually on a flight to Cincinnati as we speak (or at least he was).

If it was going to take $6 million per to sign Chapman, an unproven pitcher, I’m glad the Yankees passed.

UPDATE – The Reds have signed Chapman. Passan has confirmed the deal.

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King Felix and Josh Johnson Headed Towards New Deals?

Posted by Moshe Mandel at 12:52 pm 1 Response »
Jan 102010

From the excellent Craig Calcaterra D.J. Short over at Circling The Bases, we get word of two likely Yankee targets involved in discussions that would preclude them from making it to free agency. The first link D.J. provides is from MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro:

Sometime this week the Marlins plan to have discussions with agent Matt Sosnick regarding a contract for Josh Johnson.

Whether there is movement on a multiyear deal will depend on a key factor.

Sosnick claims if the Marlins will guarantee a four-year deal then he will listen.

Arbitration-eligible for the second time, Johnson is in line to make about $4.2 million in 2010, if both sides don’t reach a multiyear agreement for the 6-foot-7 right-hander.

Johnson is just beginning to blossom as a star pitcher, with 2009 being his first full “ace” type year. He required Tommy John surgery for an elbow injury that cost him chunks of 2007 and 2008, but is now fully healthy and seems ready to take that next step into stardom at just 26. He would garner a huge contract in free agency, but is unlikely to ever reach that point. Even if Johnson does not sign a deal with Florida, they are certain to trade him to reap a return from his departure. The cost in prospects will be extremely high, and I doubt the Yankees will be willing to give up the pieces necessary to get him. The only hope may be that Johnson refuses to sign with the club that acquires him, which would allow him to test the free agent market as a 28 year old in his prime.

The second link is to a story from Nick Cafardo about Felix Hernandez:

Talks between the Mariners and Hernandez’s agent, Alan Nero, are getting serious, and there’s more optimism that a long-term deal can get done this offseason. The Mariners have been aggressive signing players (Chone Figgins) and making trades (Cliff Lee, Casey Kotchman, Milton Bradley), and consider Hernandez the building block of their franchise.

I have a hard time seeing Felix play anywhere but Seattle. Mariners GM Jack Z is a shrewd fellow, and I am sure that he recognizes that a player of Hernandez’ caliber does not come around very often. Seattle is not a small market club, and should be able to afford Felix, who can certainly be the pitching star for that franchise for a long, long time. Seattle clearly wants to contend for the next few seasons, and keeping their ace is an important element of that plan. I am sorry, Yankee fans, but it seems like King Felix is staying in Seattle.

Photo: Hernandez- Getty Images, Johnson- SI.com

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Sunday Morning Links

Posted by Steve S. at 10:19 am 2 Responses »
Jan 102010

Some Baseball links to warm you up on a cold, winter’s morning.

-Rob Neyer kicks around which hats various players should wear in the Hall of Fame. Rob’s always a good read, but here’s the part that really grabbed me. Check out the 2013 list of HOF eligible players:

Piazza last played in 2007, so he’s not Hall-eligible until 2013. Also eligible in 2013: Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Craig Biggio, Curt Schilling, and Sammy Sosa. Bonds, Clemens, and Sosa all will lose some votes because of the drug questions but isn’t it possible that Piazza will, too? At least one voter has thrown out some wild accusations, and there’s no telling what else might be thrown out between now and 2013.

Baseball will be forced to face the never-ending steroids question yet again, and will have a very hard time keeping all of those players out. The ones who they can’t prove conclusively like Piazza and Biggio will likely wind up getting in. But the truth will come out eventually, making all of this an even bigger mess than it already is. Chances are, there already are a few players in the HOF who used steroids during their career. Ricky Henderson, who played on those drug-fueled A’s teams of the late 80′s/early 90′s would be one possibility, though no evidence has emerged as of yet.

-Chad Jennings compares tall Righty Andrew Brackman to Randy Johnson. The disappointing thing about Brackman is that when he was drafted, his mechanics were supposed to be smooth and clean. That turned out to not be the case. But Chad cautions patience, and will get no argument from me there. Do you know how old Randy Johnson was when he finally figured out his mechanical issues and got his walks under 100? 29 years old. That’s when he went from being a wild, frustrating pitcher who was tough to hit to becoming ‘The Big Unit’.

-Some jokes never get old. The ‘Randolph Johnstone’ retrospective was a classic, as well.

-Congrats to Mark Melancon, who was married last Saturday in Omaha’s Roseblatt Baseball Stadium. Must have been a big guest list.

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