Braves Interested In Chapman?

Oh gosh, please don't.

A our rotation is set for years to come, even with 3 old guys. And if he gets the money everyone seems to think he'll get, it just doesn't add up.

...That makes absolutely no sense.

Only reason it makes sense is because of the lack of a lefty in our rotation. Trade Lowe and Kawakami, save about 60 mil there, give Chapman the 40 mil he wants, save 20 mil and have a rotation of

Vazquez
Jurrjens
Hudson
Hanson
Chapman

With Medlen as the 6th starter with needed.

That's a sick rotation and we go from being and old rotation to having an average age of about 26. Not to mention saving 20 mil.

On the other hand, if we did sign him that would make one of our coveted pitching prospects available, which would be a good piece for our RH power bat in a trade.

This money would come from the scouting/draft/PD budget. It's like signing the #1 pick in the Draft. Can't hurt to throw a # out there; maybe they are going to make up for saving money on Minor.

I don't think he'll be an ace but at bare minimum he'd be a scary setup guy.

As a Braves fan, I'd love him, however, is there such thing as too much pitching? I'd like to say no.

We don't have a DH Sage, Gamel is much more attractive to a AL team, and you would therefore get more in return from one.

It would be too much pitching if we just added Chapman to Vazquez, Hudson, Hanson, Jurrjens, Lowe, Kawakami, and Medlen, but I'm thinking that Wren is trying to save some money while getting younger and staying on the same level.

ummmmmmm...NO!! We need to spend our money on a closer and to resign Adam Laroche, adding starting pitching is the last thing we need especially pitching that costs so much, please God no and let the Red Sox and Yankees bitch this one out until this guy signs for 100 mil a year

Yeah, I need someone to explain this to me. Someone like Scribbletone needs to come shed light on us Braves fans.

I can only assume that Frank Wren has something tricky up his sleeve.

About the lack of lefties in the Braves rotation, I'd rather take my chances with Mike Minor than pay $40-60 million on Chapman.

They need to use that money on bettering the offense and the bullpen. Paying more big money for starting pitching is the last thing they should do.

Yeah, the only way this makes baseball sense is if Wren has found trade partners for both Lowe and Kawakami AND Wren feels that he needs a young lefty in the rotation with velocity.

Hmm, haven't heard about Liberty opening up the pursestrings. How nice would it be to get up to the 110-120M range to try and match the Phils and Mets in spending power.

Let me ruin the surprise ending to this story...either the Red Sox or the Yankees get him.

Intersting...

Everybody keeps looking at us signing chapman meaning that Lowe or KK will be traded but more than likely it means that Vasquez will be moved too. Vasquez is a much more attractive piece to get us a good RH bat because he only has one year left. My guess is if we get chapman Vasquez will be gone as well as either Lowe or Kk

Not probable but possible. I believe there could possibly be a trade worked out for two of of the 3 (Vazques, KK, Lowe) if that was to happen i say do it. JJ Hanson Chapman Medlen sounds like a good young rotation for years to come. Toss in a healthy Hudson and its filthy. Unless you trade two of the three though you can't sign him. Vasquez for Casey would work for me as a braves fan and then trade lowe for a bucket of balls if someone will take the salary. I could also see JJ traded for the right piece.

"Yeah, I need someone to explain this to me. Someone like Scribbletone needs to come shed light on us Braves fans."

I'm not scribble, but I can give similar insight. He and I run on the same mind hamster wheel.

First off, I give nearly zero chance Wren is actually interested in Chapman, despite the heading of the article. Wren says he is "interested" because it gets casual Braves fans more involved with the team. Quite possibly, it gets more butts in seats, which makes a nice profit. It also, more likely, is to raise the price up for other teams trying to sign Chapman; they'll offer him an offer below what is expected, probably in the $14-18 million range. If he doesn't accept, Wren can say he "tried his best." It's a common GM move.

Then, there's the very unlikely chance of Wren wanting to trade Vasquez or Lowe, thereby opening up salary, and inserting Chapman into the rotation. I don't think he should trade either, at this point, for the following reason. People seem to be forgetting that Chapman is NOT major-league ready at this point.

I think it's just a public relations move. Just a rumor, nothing comes of it.

Per Bowman's blog, Braves & Wren are now denying interest in Chapman.

http://markbowman.mlblogs.com/archives/2009/11/braves_deny_interest_in_chapma.html

Eh, it was fun to discuss, as rumors always are. I suspected there was something funky about this one, though. I mean, come on, this just would be a terrible move on the part of the Braves, unless it would have been a PR stunt, as UnbiasedYankee suggested.

fail rumor. If Atlanta were interested it would be to get him to trade him I think.

"This makes about as much sense as the Yankees trading for a third baseman."

This is true.

Depending upon what our scouts see...I think its great...if the kid is THAT GOOD.

Yes, we have Jair, and we have Hanson, both are young and have explosive potential...but the rest of the guys are getting into their twilight years or will be close to un-affordable in any case.

I think signing a great YOUNG starting rotation is the way to go...sorry if I seem to be sentimental to our last unprecedented string of division championships.

Sounds like Wren is following the Schuerholz blueprint, I for one am thankful.

I dont think this rumor is true but if it is maybe the Braves see him as a better fit to be a closer. They do need help in the backend of the bullpen and a lefty that throws 100 could help out alot

Is anyone surprised that Wren is denying this rumor?

I'm sorry, but as nice as it would seem to be, the Braves really shouldn't be focusing on spending money on pitching. If anything, they need to focus on dumping some of their pitchers in order to free up payroll space to spend on position players.

If they just signed Hudson, and have essentially four solid pieces in the lineup (Jones, McCann, Escobar, McLouth), then does it really seem like a good idea to spend more money on pitching, rather than on help in the outfield and at first base, where the projected internal starter is Barbaro Canizares?

I just don't see this rumor adding up, I can't see the Braves spending $40M+ on Chapman, but that's just me.

I know the divorce could create problems, but would it make sense for the Dodgers to take a run at him? We aren't overflowing in the minors with SP Prospects...

The Cubs won't be signing Chapman, according to Carrie Muskat. She said that "...but you can cross the Cubs off the list of teams interested in Cuban left-handed pitcher Aroldis Chapman. He has met with several big league teams and the Cubs did talk to his agent, but Chapman doesn't fit in their budget."

http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20091102&content_id=7602966&vkey=news_chc&fext=.jsp&c_id=chc

This actually makes sense to me, we add a lefty and his salary will be comparable to Vasquez's. Move Vasquez to the Rangers for Cruz and probably move Lowe as a salary dump unfortuneately. The payroll goes down significantly and you get some pop in the outfield, then you can re-sign LaRoche and add some bullpen help. Medlen could be your long reliever and spot starter. That includes a lot of if's but maybe Wren has something up his sleeve.