Cuban LHP Aroldis Chapman has apparently signed a deal with a National League team this morning, according to a tweet from Yahoo! Sports' Jeff Passan, which happened to be his second-ever tweet.
Cuban LHP Aroldis Chapman agrees to $30M deal with National League team, according to source. Left Ft. Lauderdale airport this a.m. to sign.
Passan's latest update has said it was been narrowed down to an NL Central team with Cincinnati being the likely team.
Chapman has 61 cards already in circulation, according to Beckett. These are all World Baseball Classic, including many from 2009 Bowman Draft Picks and Prospects. His cards have done well, but nothing extraordinary. Most of the parallels range in the $15-$50 range. A few cards have gone over on the secondary market, but not much.
With the hype that has surrounded Chapman, does he become the next stud in Bowman?
Update: At 2:54 p.m., Passan's latest tweet said the deal is confirmed. Chapman to the Reds for five years, $30 million.
This hurts Chapman's collectibility a little bit since he didn't sign with either the New York teams or Boston.
ReplyDeleteHe and his agents probably decided on the team that gave him the most money and I don't fault him.
However, how will he be handled in his development? If he is getting paid $30 million over the course of his contract, he isn't going to spending too much time in the minor leagues.
Once he reaches the Major Leagues, he'll be under Dusty Baker's hands and if nothing else, Baker likes to lean hard on any live-armed body on the mound.
Baker will be chomping at the bit to see what this kid will do and it might not be to Chapman's benefit.