After slow playing the free agent market for the first few months of the offseason, the Cincinnati Reds went all-in last week, shelling out some serious cash to land prized Cuban pitching prospect Aroldis Chapman.
At age 21, and with a fastball that has supposedly hit 102, the left-hander has the tools to be a beast at the top of the Reds' rotation. Cincinnati GM Walt Jocketty broke the bank to acquire the talented Champman's services, inking him to a six-year deal that will probably pay him around $30 million, plus incentives. Since the deal is backloaded, it will be interesting to see at what level the six-foot-four, 185 pound Chapman begins the 2010 season. Will he be facing Albert Pujols in the first month of the season? Or will he begin the campaign down on the farm, allowing him to adjust to the rigors of pro baseball in America?
Seeing Chapman at Louisville Slugger Field at some point in 2010 is a real possibility, as one would think the club would like to see him polish his game in the interim while the team still has veterans Aaron Harang and Bronson Arroyo entrenched as starters. Since there aren't too many Cuban League highlights on 'Baseball Tonight,' it is unclear how Chapman's array of nasty pitches will stack up against major league hitters.
Several big league teams were in pursuit of the left-handed Chapman, who snuck through Fidel Castro's net of commies by defecting while at a tournament in the Netherlands. After playing in the tourney, Chapman established residence in Andorra, allowing him to eventually become eligible to sign with a major-league team as a free-agent. Kudos to Andorra for acting as a haven for the newest Red. FYI, Andorra is a principality in Europe nestled between, and ruled by, Spain and France.
Much to Sean Penn's disdain, Chapman is escaping Cuba for the states, where he will actually be able to enjoy the fruits of his talents, enjoying the life of his dreams. In Chapman's mother land of Cuba, all athletes are considered amateurs and cannot make a living playing a sport without government support. In another act of the Castro regime's humanitarianism, baseball players who defect are rarely allowed to bring their families, and they are never again mentioned in the state-controlled press.
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Comments
I am very glad that the Reds got Chapman, and have no love for Cuba. But the author of this story should keep his ignorant political thoughts to himself.;
Thank you for reading Mr. Hodge. I make no attempt to be political in the story, only throwing a slight jab at Castro. I am not educated enough to supply any opinion on the pros/cons of Cuba's political system. Just a casual observation that we don't frequently see residents of other countries knocking on the door to establish residence in Cuba.
Ignorant political thoughts?????? Sounds to me like the author is very accurate. You,sir, it is obvious is the ignorant one. We should bash communism and slavery every time we get the chance if nothing else to educate people like yourself that freedom is good and slavery is bad. IF you don't understand that I can't hardly believe you are smart enough to read this.
Well, Richard does say that he has no love for Cuba so it may not be that he is pro-Communism. Could he be one of those that think that all immigrants are illegal, they are all here to abuse the system, blah, blah, blah...? Well, this one was a legal European resident when we got him and will be contributing in taxes in 1 year more than most of us will in our entire life. Next time we use any government program let's remember that some of the funds may have come from this kid.
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