Yanks viewed Chapman as a luxury
What’s a day without an Aroldis Chapman post?
From Mark Sheldon of MLB.com:
Once Chapman was declared a free agent by Major League Baseball, speculation was that the 21-year-old’s asking price might make big-market, deep-pocketed clubs favorites to acquire Chapman. But that proved to be a wrong assumption.
Many teams, such as the Red Sox and Yankees, were indicating to Hendricks they viewed Chapman as mostly a luxury. Boston, which had recently signed free agent John Lackey, already had a stocked pitching staff. So did the Yankees. Clubs like these viewed Chapman as part of their big league plans — in 2011 or ’12.
The Reds presented themselves as a younger club that could provide a chance for Chapman to pitch in the Majors in 2010.
“So here’s the metaphor I used when teams expressed concern this would be for just the highest bidder, like New York or Boston,” Hendricks said. “‘If I had a great first baseman from Cuba, do you think I’d call the St. Louis Cardinals first?’ We wanted opportunity. We would like to put him in a system where he’d have an opportunity to emerge sooner.”
If, in the end, Aroldis Chapman truly develops into something particularly special – an ace – then the “deep-pocketed” Yankees could just attempt to sign the Cuban-born left-hander once he enters free agency (possibly 2015). Depending on his still-to-be-formed track record, he might be more expensive by then, but at least he’ll be less of an enigma.
Photo via MLB.com
