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MLB - Sports Rumors

Thu Oct 29, 2009 8:53 am EDT

M's getting in on bidding for Cuban defector Chapman

By Mark J. Miller

“AroldisEverybody wants lefthanded Cuban defector Aroldis Chapman. And why not? The 21-year-old can apparently throw 102 mph pitches. Add the Seattle Mariners to the list of teams that is after Chapman, according to the Seattle Times. A soruce tells the paper that the team is "serious." One would hope so.

The team has apparently asked to meet wtith Chapman and his agent next week. Other teams that are after the young fella include the New York Yankees and Bsoton Red Sox so the M's should expect bidding to go pretty high. Chapman was supposed to throw a bullpen session in Boston yesterday but the weather kept that from happenng.

The Detroit Tigers, St. Louis Cardinals, New York Mets, and Baltimore Orioles have all also supposedly expressed interest in landing Chapman.

Source: Seattle TimesNew Window

Related: Baltimore Orioles, Detroit Tigers, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Seattle Mariners, St. Louis Cardinals

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40 Comments

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  1. Tim
    1. Posted by Tim Thu Oct 29, 2009 9:06 am EDT

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    might want to use spell check before you post stuff
  2. Artist formerly known as Evil Empire!
    2. Posted by Artist formerly known as Evil Empire! Thu Oct 29, 2009 9:12 am EDT

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    why bother.
  3. str A's hooter
    3. Posted by str A's hooter Thu Oct 29, 2009 9:21 am EDT

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    Looks like Seattle is interested in contending, next year. If Hernandez isn't traded, and Chapman is signed, Seattle will be winning most of their 3 game series next year!
  4. Jo Bangles
    4. Posted by Jo Bangles Thu Oct 29, 2009 9:27 am EDT

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    If he used spell check, it would correct his incessant use of the word "fella".
  5. rrossini@...
    5. Posted by rrossini@... Thu Oct 29, 2009 10:07 am EDT

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    Terrible grammar in this article would not be corrected by spell check. Sentence 4 is grammatically incorrect.
    Sentence one should read 'Everyone not everybody
    fella?
    soruce?
    wtith?
    Bston?
    happeng?
    One of the mostly poorly constructed articles written by a sports journalist. Hard to respect his opinions when he doesn't respect his readers. What a boob. Go back to school Miller.
  6. Stan L
    6. Posted by Stan L Thu Oct 29, 2009 10:08 am EDT

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    I'm sure he would start in the minors. I don't think this is about contending in 2010.
  7. The Real Deal
    7. Posted by The Real Deal Thu Oct 29, 2009 10:32 am EDT

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    Well if the Yankees are involved in the bidding, I wouldn't get my hopes up as a fan of another team.
  8. scott
    8. Posted by scott Thu Oct 29, 2009 10:41 am EDT

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    The list of interested teams keps changing. Next week, Kansas City will be in the running.
    Real, should this guy have to go thru the draft? I think so. What makes him any different than any other unsigned kid in HS or college? The same goes for anyone playing in a professional league. They should declare their intentions and then there should be a supplemental draft.
  9. Brian C
    9. Posted by Brian C Thu Oct 29, 2009 10:52 am EDT

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    Scott I couldn't agree more. Why should kids out of high school and college be forced to enter the draft where they have no say what team signs them and will get the short end of a deal (relatively speaking) where the team benefits more than the athlete while this guy can just show up and hand pick what team he wants to sign with and do so for an insane amount of money. Poor Strasburg who also can throw 100 mph is stuck in Washington and only got $15M while this guy probably gets to sign with a contender for $60M or more. How is that fair?
  10. The Real Deal
    10. Posted by The Real Deal Thu Oct 29, 2009 10:55 am EDT

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    scott,
    I agree on the draft for a kid like this or any other non professional. When dealing with a pro from another country where he is not a free agent and there is another party to be compensated ,it gets a bit more complicated. For amatuers, the draft is the fair way to go.
  11. scott
    11. Posted by scott Thu Oct 29, 2009 11:09 am EDT

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    Real, you have a point on the prossionals. That's a whole nother can of worms. I don't know how they do it in Japan but if a player is at the end of his contract or a free agent, he should go into a draft.
    Brian, good point on Strasburg, although I have a hard time feeling sorry for his $15 mil. If he doesn't like the deal, the only recourse he has is to sit a year and re-enter the draft. But this guy comes out of nowhere and is trying to sign a $50 or $60 mil deal. Not right at all. The draft was put in place so all the teams had a fair shot at signing players.
  12. Skee
    12. Posted by Skee Thu Oct 29, 2009 1:26 pm EDT

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    I have few different options:
    1. Waivers - the kid goes on waivers and the worst teams have first crack at him.
    2. Lottery - Do like the NBA lottery, every team has so many chances and whoever wins gets first rights to sign
    3. My favorite - Do it like what has been done with the Japanese players. You have to first pay so much to win the rights to negotiate with him. That money goes to the league which then gets disperced/split among all the remaining clubs. If one team wants to spend $30-60 million for the rights to negotiate, then have to sign the kid, and then have the knowledge you just paid everyone in the league whatever amount... I think it would start to bring a little sanity to the salaries. Just a thought....
    Skee
  13. TideCats
    13. Posted by TideCats Thu Oct 29, 2009 1:34 pm EDT

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    Its in the collective bargining agreements. Players from other countries that do no defect directly to the U.S. are granted free agent status.
    If the cuban kid floated to florida he has to be drafted. If he defects to a third country then he is a free agent
  14. live 4 surf
    14. Posted by live 4 surf Thu Oct 29, 2009 1:40 pm EDT

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    well at least there is no posting fee.
  15. James
    15. Posted by James Thu Oct 29, 2009 1:41 pm EDT

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    I think EVERY sport needs to get rid of the draft. Institute a hard salary cap and force every team to manage a payroll. The best way to get parity is to only allow teams to spend a set amount of money on players.
    Regarding the draft, why is it that the only profession that has a draft is sports. I don't see Accounting firms drafting accounting graduates, or Law firms drafting law graduates.
  16. Soporific
    16. Posted by Soporific Thu Oct 29, 2009 2:07 pm EDT

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    lol drafts in accounting firms..
  17. The Real Deal
    17. Posted by The Real Deal Thu Oct 29, 2009 2:26 pm EDT

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    I don't think "parity" should necessarily be the goal for MLB or any other professional sport. A fair chance to succeed is all that should be provided, or equality in opportunity, not equality in results. That said, it is difficult to attain such a system because owners and sports markets are not equal. Binding arbitration to me is the chief killer of small market teams, but that is something that the Players' Union has negotiated years ago and they are not about to give it up. Putting a defector like Chaoman thru the draft system would be a small step in making things a little more equal.
  18. James
    18. Posted by James Thu Oct 29, 2009 3:00 pm EDT

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    My point was, and I still maintain, that if each team had a hard minimum and a hard maximum that they had to spend, then it would create a more level playing field. Parity may not have been the correct choice of word, but the goal is to create a fair environment, and one (not the only) way to accomplish this is by controlling what a team can spend on player payroll. Smaller markets will still have some disadvantage due to endorsement deal potential, but fixed payroll range would be a start. It would be interesting to see what impact a hard team payroll cap would have on Binding Arbitration. A likely scenario would be the arbitrator awarding a salary that would push the team above the threshold, what would happen....interesting situation.
  19. The Real Deal
    19. Posted by The Real Deal Thu Oct 29, 2009 3:36 pm EDT

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    James,
    I am somewhat uncomfortable with salary caps that control what teams can spend on payroll. Clearly it would have the effect of reducing players' salaries in general which would be highly contested by the Players' Union, probably to the point of calling a strike. Still, the current system is undoubtedly unfair to small market teams and you make some good points.
  20. live 4 surf
    20. Posted by live 4 surf Thu Oct 29, 2009 3:54 pm EDT

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    real if there was a minimum and maximum cap with greater revenue sharing and solid rules on how the money was to be spent, it likely would be acceptable to the players union. the resistance would come from the larger market owners. this is due to the bottom having to spend more to offset what the richer teams don't spend. if the pool of money spent is relatively the same. it would also flush out the owners of small market teams who don't want to spend as they might not like being told how to spend their money.
  21. FELIX CAMPITI
    21. Posted by FELIX CAMPITI Thu Oct 29, 2009 4:16 pm EDT

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    From what I read this kid is a major risk, financially and talent wise!!!!
  22. The Real Deal
    22. Posted by The Real Deal Thu Oct 29, 2009 4:24 pm EDT

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    Hi surf,
    I am going to have to disagree with you on this one. The Players' Union loves to see contracts like the $180 million 8 year deal given out to Mark Teixeira by the Yankees. Driving up salaries is in the best interest of its' membership, or so they think. Remember when the Red Sox nearly acquired Arod? Everybody was happy with the deal, The Red Sox, Texas, Arod, Selig, only the Union opposed the deal because it would have meant a slight reduction in salary to Alex. The Union had the power to stop the deal and they did. Any new rules that would adversely affect players salaries ( A Cap would certainly qualify) would be adamantly opposed by the Union, and I believe they would go to the mat over it which means a players' strike.
  23. FELIX CAMPITI
    23. Posted by FELIX CAMPITI Thu Oct 29, 2009 4:29 pm EDT

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    I hate to say this but I would say the only real chances for this kid are with the Yankees or Red Sox!!! The Mets are nearly broke, Detroit, who the hell would want to play there, St. Louis maybe a long shot but very long, Baltimore and Seatlle are great cities, but they just can't draw the free agents anymore. I'm not really sure that this kid is going to draw the big$$$$$$ that people may be thinking. The Yankees are going to look for a R/H power bat for the outfield and an established starter, and Boston needs a catcher, shortstop, leftfielder and some veteran pitching, so maybe someone else has a shot!!
  24. Jo Bangles
    24. Posted by Jo Bangles Thu Oct 29, 2009 5:17 pm EDT

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    I'm very surprised the Angels aren't interested. Chapman would fill the void of "future ace" left by the death of Nick Adenhart. Beyond that, they showed tremendous patience with Kendry Morales, and cultivated him into a superstar caliber player. You'd think Chapman might want to follow that model. Give him a 3-4 year contract with a team option at the end, and the Angels would turn this guy into a star.

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