Will Decision By Cuban Defector Diminish Red Sox Chances of Signing Him?

If you have never heard of Aroldis Chapman, or if you have only heard dribs and drabs about him, then you had better get ready—because over the course of the next few weeks and months you are going to hear an awful lot about him.

I first read about him last spring while preparing for one of my fantasy baseball auctions. The rules in one of my leagues provides for a reserve roster, and permits team owners to acquire ANY player for its reserve roster, including players from the NL (notably, those who may become free agents), collegiate baseball, and international baseball.

I Googled the word “defect” and the phrase “Cuban baseball players” and up popped the name Aroldis Chapman—time after time. Various reports said he is a left-hander who can throw 100 miles an hour. As you might imagine, the reports were intriguing.

The only question was how long he would last in the reserve draft. I wanted him, but there are a couple of other guys in the league who likewise are enamored of acquiring hidden gems from overseas—players who can be controlled at low salaries for several years (Daisuke Matsuzaka was acquired in this manner).

I passed on Chapman in round one—selecting Red Sox 1B prospect Lars Anderson instead. I wanted Chapman in round two, but by the time my selection came around again, he was already drafted.

Chapman, 22, is frequently described as a “phenom." He’s much younger than some of the other high-profile free agent pitchers who have come to the US from Cuba.

Jose Contreras was 31 when he came to the United States; Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez was 32. The pitcher who Chapman can be most closely compared to, in terms of age and “buzz," is Hernandez’s younger brother, Livan, who was just 21 years old when he arrived in the States.

Chapman defected from the Cuban national team while attending the 2009 World Port Tournament, in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, in July.

While there he connected with Edwin Mejia, of Athletes Premier International, on the recommendation of a childhood friend of Chapman. Soon thereafter, Mejia was serving as his agent.

Mejia took Chapman to Barcelona, Spain, where Chapman lived and trained throughout the remainder of the summer. The two men later moved to Andorra, a small principality on the border of France and Spain, where Chapman officially established residency.

A week later, Major League Baseball awarded him status as a free agent.

Last month, Mejia took Chapman to New York and Boston to begin the process of negotiating with interested ball clubs, including the Red Sox, Mets, and Yankees.

It is known the Red Sox have a keen interest in the southpaw, and many in Boston had hoped that Mejia (a native of Boston) might give the Red Sox some small advantage when wooing the hurler.

But Chapman has now switched agents, choosing to cut ties with Mejia—who has never represented a major leaguer—and instead secure the services of veteran agents Randy and Alan Hendricks.

Red Sox fans remember the brothers Hendricks—they formerly represented one-time Boston ace Roger Clemens.

Could Mejia’s presence in the process have provided the Sox with an advantage in signing Chapman? Probably not, but now we will never know. His departure certainly won’t help…

Scouting Report on Chapman:

Height: 6′4″
Weight: 180 lbs

Tall… lean… long arms and legs… whippy body.

Repertoire: His four-seam fastball regularly sits in the mid-90s but has been clocked as high as 102 mph; two-seam fastball will generally hit 91-92; and he possesses a hard slider that registers in the low-80s with really good sink. He lacks a third pitch.

Scouts say he does not have a “feel” for pitching. They consider his command to be below-average to average, despite the fact he repeats his delivery well, has smooth mechanics and creates velocity with easy arm action.

In spite of these shortcomings, scouts consider him the best left-handed pitching prospect in the world.

ESPN writer Buster Olney recently referred to Chapman “a left-handed Stephen Strasburg”.

Question: Is he REALLY just 21 years old?