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Aroldis Chapman

When Should The Reds Call Up Chapman?

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In the past week, we've taken looks at when the Rangers should call up Justin Smoak and when the Indians should call on Carlos Santana to take over behind the dish. In both of these cases, we looked at teams with glaring holes on their major league club and hot prospects in the wings, so let's look at another.

The Reds entered today's contest with a 6.55 ERA from their rotation, second-worst in all of baseball to Pittsburgh. As a group, they're allowing 4.01 walks per nine innings, and opposing hitters are batting .292 against them. It's no secret that they've got a fireballing lefty at Triple-A Louisville in Aroldis Chapman. While control has been an issue through his first three starts (10 BB through 15 innings), he's managed to strike out 18 batters and allowed just nine hits and one earned run.

Unfortunately for Cincinnati, working Chapman into the rotation may be difficult. Aaron Harang and Bronson Arroyo are making $12.5MM and $11MM, respectively. Homer Bailey is out of options. It's possible to option Johnny Cueto back to Triple-A, but despite his 5.73 ERA on the season, he's actually been their second-best starter. Mike Leake, their fifth starter, is the only one of the bunch who has shown any success this season.

The Reds emerged seemingly from nowhere to sign the 21-year-old Chapman to a six-year, $30.25MM deal this offseason. While some originally thought that he wouldn't be a part of the club's plans early in 2010 (or perhaps even at all), his impressive spring vaulted him into consideration for the rotation. Leake eventually won the battle, but the Reds need an improvement in their starting pitching. They've managed eight wins, but that trend simply can't keep up if the current lack of production from their rotation continues.

It's a slow day, so let's leave it open to discussion. Should the Reds call up Chapman any time soon, and if so, how should they go about it? A trade of Harang or Arroyo could be difficult to facilitate. We've seen both Carlos Zambrano and Jeff Suppan moved to the bullpen this week; could the Reds continue the trend with Harang? Or is Cincinnati better off letting Chapman develop his control more in Louisville, while waiting for their starters to right the ship?

Discussion: Aaron Harang

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After Aroldis Chapman's strong debut for Triple-A Louisville, John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer was asked (via Twitter) if a repeat of that could force the Reds to trade Aaron Harang.  Fay, of course, said it was too early for GM Walt Jocketty to take such action.  However, the Reds could look to move the veteran pitcher if Chapman makes his way to the big leagues and impresses there as well.

The 31-year-old Harang is set to earn $12.5MM this season with a club option of $12.75MM for 2011 that can be bought out for a modest $2MM.  In 2009, he posted a 4.21 ERA with 7.9 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 – numbers that are consistent with his career average.  The xFIP metric was even kinder to the righty, as he notched a 3.96 – a marked improvement over his 4.39 the year prior.

If the Reds find themselves in a position where they can move Harang, what teams could you see inquiring on him?

Odds & Ends: Lerew, Cuba, Coonelly, Hechavarria

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Links for Wednesday…

Billy Beane Talks To Athletics Nation

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General manager Billy Beane spoke to Tyler Bleszinski of Athletics Nation about a week ago.  Check out the interview here and here.  A few hot stove-related highlights:

  • Beane was told the A's were the runners-up in the Aroldis Chapman bidding.  He said "I think we got slightly outbid" by the Reds' six-year, $30.25MM offer to the Cuban lefty.
  • Center fielder Coco Crisp, signed to a one-year, $5.5MM deal, was considered "good value relative to the cost."  Beane admitted that the A's probably will not be able to afford to re-sign Crisp if he has a healthy season.  While there was trade interest in Rajai Davis, Beane is looking for continuity.
  • Beane was frank in saying that he expects to "follow the cycle" of the last 10-15 years if the team does not get a new venue.  That implies trading Ben Sheets and/or other veterans in July if the team falls out of contention, but conversely making acquisitions if the A's are still in the hunt.
  • Brad Pitt met with Beane in preparation for the actor's role in the Moneyball movie.  Beane described Pitt as "very down-to-earth."

Anthopoulos: The Blue Jays Can Spend

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Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos told Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star that he could have asked ownership to bid $30MM-plus on Aroldis Chapman.

"Paul [Beeston, the team's president] and ownership were fully prepared to endorse it," Anthopoulos said. "I guess my one regret is I wish it was a greater comfort level on our part. We weren't as familiar with the player as we needed to be."

But the next time the Blue Jays are pursuing a player they want, the GM is confident the club will be able to add payroll. He says the team was receptive to one possible deal that would have seen the Jays take on $4-5MM. The GM wants to put a presentable product on the field, even though his club is rebuilding. Anthopoulos acknowledged that fans come out to see the Jays play well, but says he'll only set aside the team's long-term goals to an extent.

"If we sign a certain free agent is it short-term? Do we have to surrender draft picks? Well that doesn't make a whole lot of sense."

The Blue Jays didn't surrender any draft picks this offseason, but they obtained three when Marco Scutaro and Rod Barajas signed elsewhere. Anthopoulos says major league free agency is just one place the club looks for talent.

"We're opening minor-league free agency. We're impacting the Rule 5 Draft. We're impacting waiver claims. We're impacting the draft with the amateurs. We're impacting Latin America."

Reds Notes: Wells, Chapman, Leake, Balentien, Miles

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A few Reds-related items to round up:

Odds & Ends: Padron, Washburn, Moeller, Chapman

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Links for Tuesday…

Reds Notes: Chapman, Harang, Arroyo, Owings

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Mark Sheldon of MLB.com answered some Reds-related questions from fans in a mailbag today.  Here are a few of the more intriguing items….

  • With Aroldis Chapman looking like he might make the Cincinnati staff, a reader wondered how this quick entry into the majors might affect the six-year, $30.25MM deal Chapman signed in January.  Sheldon says that if the young hurler is eligible for arbitration after 2012, then the final three years of his contract would be voided and part of his remaining salary is converted into a bonus.  Sheldon notes that the Reds would still control Chapman for at least the full six years of the initial contract.
  • Chapman is one of several young pitchers whose 2010 performance may dictate what the Reds do with the options of Bronson Arroyo and Aaron Harang, Sheldon writes.  Cincinnati has $2MM buyouts on both Arroyo and Harang, but if the club chooses to bring one or both pitchers back, Arroyo will be owed at least $11MM and Harang will be owed at least $12.75MM.  (Both options could be worth as much as $13MM based based on innings pitched.)  If the youngsters step up, the Reds might be comfortable in letting both veterans go.
  • Sheldon says Micah Owings' primary value is still as a pitcher, and his strong pinch-hitting is just a bonus.  But Sheldon notes that since Mike Lincoln is out of options and on a guaranteed contract, he may squeeze Owings out of a bullpen spot.

The New Market For Cuban Players

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When you think about Cuban players that signed with a Major League team this past offseason, the first name that will come to mind is Aroldis Chapman and his six-year, $30.25MM contract. However, as ESPN's Jorge Arangure writes, the contracts signed by Jose Iglesias, Adeiny Hechevarria, and Noel Arguelles may dictate the future of the Cuban market.

Arangure notes that at this time last year, Iglesias and Arguelles were expected to command only $1-2MM on the open market. They, of course, signed for $8.25MM and $6.9MM, respectively. If those players meet expectations, not only will teams start to specifically target Cuban prospects, but players in Cuba will surely take notice and attempt to defect at a younger age.

Even though players like Hechevarria and Iglesias are college-aged, they're perceived to be more advanced than their American counterparts because they've faced tougher competition growing up. However, for every Kendry Morales making an impact in the big leagues, there's a Juan Miranda stuck in Triple-A. The risk associated with young players is the same no matter where they come from, but the Cuban market is getting more and more expensive. 

Execs Name Best, Worst Moves Of The Offseason

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Recently MLBTR spoke to several MLB executives to gather their nominations for the best and worst moves of the offseason.

Free agent signings that received mention for the best moves: Felipe Lopez, Adrian Beltre, Adam LaRoche, Chone Figgins, Hideki Matsui, and Aroldis Chapman.  Said one exec on Chapman: "He might truly live up to the hype."  It's hard not to praise the Cards for getting Lopez on a one-year, $1MM deal.

Three trades came up as choices for the best moves of the offseason: the Mariners' acquisition of Cliff Lee, the Royals' trade of Mark Teahen, and the Rangers' trade of Kevin Millwood.  One exec noted that the Mariners "didn't trade anyone that can hurt them in the next couple of years" for Lee, while another believed that "trading Lee and Kyle Drabek in the Roy Halladay deal will hurt [the Phillies] in the long run."  The Royals received props for "getting some value for Teahen," while the Rangers' increased payroll flexibility from the Millwood deal was noted.

Nominated for the worst moves: free agent deals for Jason Bay, Matt Holliday, Brandon Lyon, Jason Kendall, Aubrey Huff, Jason Marquis, Randy Wolf, and Garrett Atkins.  All the execs polled mentioned Holliday's seven year, $120MM deal when choosing their worst deals of the winter.  Said one: "The fear that he would sign a one-year deal elsewhere and take his chances a year from now — that just doesn't make sense to me."

Aside from Kendall and Huff, there was a vibe of "like the player, hate the contract" with the panned free agent signings.  One exec felt the Royals downgraded behind the plate with Kendall.  Huff was nominated as a small-scale misstep, in that the exec felt that "Hank Blalock is better and he couldn't get half that salary on a non-roster deal."

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