According to ESPN’s Jorge Arangure Jr.,Cuban defector and pitching phenom Aroldis Chapman was expected to arrive in New York today to visit with several GMs.
Arangure Jr. believes that the flame throwing 21-year-old lefty getting a contract in the $40-60MM range. Arangure believes that the the Yankees and Red Sox will be the top bidders for his services, with other teams such as the A’s , Giants ,Angels, Mets, and Orioles as being in the mix.
Chapman’s fast ball has been clocked in the high ’90′s to low hundreds, and he has been likened as the left handed compliment to this years Washington Nationals first round pick Stephen Strasburg.
Why do I have a feeling we have a better shot at resigning Kelvin Chapman than Aroldis Chapman ?!?
33 comments
rustyjr
10/21/2009-5:19pm at 5:19 pm (UTC -4)
ugh just got this from Marty Noble at mlb.com
like the idea of Cameron, and so do the Mets. He would provide reliable and comprehensive defense in left field and might hit 15-20 home runs at Citi Field if he played 120 games. Word to Marty SHUTUP!!!
wannybackstra
10/21/2009-5:25pm at 5:25 pm (UTC -4)
definitely not the answer.
rustyjr
10/21/2009-5:26pm at 5:26 pm (UTC -4)
never said he was but then you look at guys like Dice K and Ichero or even livan or el dookie back in the day and they dominated
wannybackstra
10/21/2009-6:40pm at 6:40 pm (UTC -4)
meant Cameron!!
trs86
10/21/2009-5:29pm at 5:29 pm (UTC -4)
Chapman or Cameron or both?
Cameron it depends on if we upgrade 1B and Catcher or decide that good defense in LF is a premium.
Chapman if it does not affect the MLB budget.
rustyjr
10/21/2009-5:31pm at 5:31 pm (UTC -4)
oh i wouldnt mind chapman – who wouldnt but our front office is too gun shy when it comes to importing possibly league ready talent – I’d rather see Bernard Gilkey or Eliot Maddox come back before Cameron does
trs86
10/21/2009-5:34pm at 5:34 pm (UTC -4)
IF the Mets use the money wisely on pitching and upgrade 1B, what is the beef with Cameron? Good pop, defense and speed. Should be relatively cheap. I could see the Yankees being interested in him again.
trs86
10/21/2009-5:37pm at 5:37 pm (UTC -4)
I am not saying it would happen as Cameron would never sign here for it but it would make a potential platoon for Pagan as Cameron murders LHP.
rustyjr
10/21/2009-5:39pm at 5:39 pm (UTC -4)
i’d rather see a f-mart / pagan or a vlad/ pagan platoon then
trs86
10/21/2009-5:44pm at 5:44 pm (UTC -4)
Fmart is bad and proven nothing and is LH. Pagan hits RHP better. And Vlad can’t play defense and will cost much more and most likely multiple years.
rustyjr
10/21/2009-5:47pm at 5:47 pm (UTC -4)
we are basing f-mart on a very small sample size – he was basically thrown to the wolves give him a chance man
trs86
10/21/2009-5:51pm at 5:51 pm (UTC -4)
I will, in the minors. He needs to prove he can be a stable consistent hitter without getting injured before I give him a MLB job.
rustyjr
10/21/2009-5:52pm at 5:52 pm (UTC -4)
point taken – i dont feel he will be ready until mid season at the earliest anyway – i was just using him as a argument
trs86
10/21/2009-5:34pm at 5:34 pm (UTC -4)
They just can’t sign Cameron and say ok offense fixed.
rustyjr
10/21/2009-5:36pm at 5:36 pm (UTC -4)
Camerons legs are shot his batting average is worse than murphs and 1st base will be a way station until ike come up in 2011
trs86
10/21/2009-5:38pm at 5:38 pm (UTC -4)
How are we anointing Ike already? I like him but lets give him another year to prove himself.
rustyjr
10/21/2009-5:40pm at 5:40 pm (UTC -4)
im just relaying what all the papers and blogs have been alluding to
trs86
10/21/2009-5:42pm at 5:42 pm (UTC -4)
Besides, if he is cheap, 24 HR can’t be looked on lightly.
rustyjr
10/21/2009-5:48pm at 5:48 pm (UTC -4)
miller park is not exactly citi field either
trs86
10/21/2009-5:52pm at 5:52 pm (UTC -4)
OK so what about SD where he hit 22 and 21 or Shea where he hit 30? The guy has pop, can’t take that away from him.
rustyjr
10/21/2009-5:54pm at 5:54 pm (UTC -4)
no you cant but he is 35 – 36 and i believe we want to get decidedly younger in the of besides cammy wont replace delgados 30 plus hr numbers
trs86
10/21/2009-5:56pm at 5:56 pm (UTC -4)
LOL, Rusty. What did I say was the only way I would want the guy to start with? If they upgrade 1B.
CaseStreet
10/22/2009-10:28am at 10:28 am (UTC -4)
Cameron isn’t a bad idea. He plays good D (plays CF now) and has pop. He’ll prob be cheaper than the Abreu or Damon’s of the world. It’ll save money to upgrade at 1B too. Doubt he’ll get a multi-year deal anyway. Maybe two max.
trs86
10/21/2009-5:45pm at 5:45 pm (UTC -4)
Rusty, I am just confused what you have against Cameron. Is he so bad and shot that a never was in Fmart and a guy that really is defensively shot will be better options? What did he do? Is he my first choice? NO! However, if they upgrade 1B and SP we could do much worse than Cameron on a 1 year contract. As to your point with Ike, he also could take over LF for Cameron after next year.
rustyjr
10/21/2009-5:50pm at 5:50 pm (UTC -4)
honestlytrs I tried to like cameron but all that goes through my head was hot stove 2002 for the ’03 season and he was the biggest splash we made – it was very disheartening and i associate him with the lousy art howe years – its my own pathos that i dont want him
trs86
10/21/2009-5:53pm at 5:53 pm (UTC -4)
I can understand that. I would not want him on a longterm deal but for 1 year if he is the best option for the price I will welcome him back.
rustyjr
10/21/2009-5:55pm at 5:55 pm (UTC -4)
possibly i feel nady might be the better of the 2 for a player of that type of ilk
trs86
10/21/2009-5:57pm at 5:57 pm (UTC -4)
Possible, if he is recovered from his surgeries. Problem is we have no idea what Nady we will get. With Cameron for the most part you know his strengths and weaknesses. But I would be for something like Ankiel and Nady too.
GravediggerHebner
10/21/2009-9:32pm at 9:32 pm (UTC -4)
Ankiel/Nady as the Yankees 2010 LF platoon I could see. I doubt either would willingly agree to such an arrangement for the Mets.
GravediggerHebner
10/21/2009-9:29pm at 9:29 pm (UTC -4)
Well, the important sporting event of the night has concluded and the New York Knicks went on the road to Newark and edged the Nets of New Jersey by 2 in a pivotal division pre-season match up. Sorry Kong.
metsfan4decades
10/21/2009-9:51pm at 9:51 pm (UTC -4)
Watching these post season games, I’m convinced Ronnie has hit the nail on the head with a comment he just made here in the 4th inning:
‘If you don’t have good starting pitching, you’re not going very far in the post season’.
Apply that to the entire season. Pitching trumps offense, every time. You can shut down good offense with good pitching the majority of the time.
So…hopefully Omar gets the message loud and clear. Get the best starting rotation you can possibly get for 2010. It should be the first priority.
prismo
10/22/2009-6:40am at 6:40 am (UTC -4)
What are you talking about? We already have our rotation!
Santana/Pelfrey/Perez/Maine/Niese
;(
CaseStreet
10/22/2009-10:38am at 10:38 am (UTC -4)
I’d agree but the Phils rotation hasn’t been killer. They’ve done well enough to allow the offense to score more runs than the other team.
They’re 4th in Runs Scored (Really Good) behind the Yanks, Red Sox and Angels and 24th in Runs Allowed (Good but not great).
Helping their Pitching is the Phils Great defense. Howard has really improved @ 1B and they are solid all around the field, except for Victorino who has horrible defensive stats (shocker).