FanPost

Aroldis Chapman: Cuban Prodigy

"We don't have enough background and scouting looks to make a proper offer," - AA

That was said in an e-mail on October 26th, 2009 about 22 year old lefty Aroldis Chapman. I suppose since then that the Jays scouts have been doing their homework on him because the Blue Jays are in the thick of the race to acquire Chapman. As it stands the only teams left in the hunt for Chapman are the Jays, Angels, and possibly the Red Sox. The Marlins have reportedly bowed out of the race because of the increasing price. Currently the reported asking price is around 21 million.

That does seem like a lot for someone who has never pitched in the minor leagues let alone the major leagues but my view is that he is worth taking a shot at. Having someone who could potentially be a future ace and if the Jays use all three of the option years they’d get in one form or another, Chapman could be theirs through the end of the 2018 season and the cost is the equivalent of Alex Rios and Scott Rolen on the team for one year. Worst case scenario is he is a bust and we lose around a small amount compared to what the Jays have been tied down by in the past by terrible contracts.

Rarely does a prospect come across with his kind of potential. The reward far outweighs the risk and The Jays should be pressing hard to get him. It is very exciting to think of a top 3 of the rotation in 2012 of Chapman, Drabek, Stewart and have your pick from Cecil, Morrow, Litsch, Romero, Marcum, R-Zep, Mills, Alvarez, Gonzalez for the 4th and 5th spot. Plus with our depth at young pitching we could trade away some young pitchers to fill gaping holes at SS or 3B. I would love to see AA pull the trigger on this one. Love or hate the idea of getting Chapman, you have to admire how strongly AA is going at the rebuilding of this club.

Editor's Note: This is a FanPost written by a reader and member of Bluebird Banter. It was not commissioned by the editors and is not necessarily reflective of the opinions of Bluebird Banter or SB Nation.