Aroldis Chapman may be one of the best closers in baseball, but his value isn't all that high if he's not playing for a winning team. With the 27-year-old set to be a free agent after 2016, the Cincinnati Reds may soon be faced with a major dilemma regarding his future with the franchise.
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Chapman Reportedly a Target for Washington Nationals
Friday, June 12
Fox Sports' Jon Morosi reported the Washington Nationals are exploring a potential trade for Chapman, adding that any deal between the two teams is still in the very early stages:
Reds general manager Walt Jocketty talked in December about how he'd keep an open mind with any offers for Chapman, per C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer:
James Wagner of the Washington Post noted the Nats have had an interest in Chapman for quite some time now:
The idea of dealing Chapman might at first sound crazy. In his six years in MLB, the Cuban left-hander has a career 2.31 earned run average in 280 innings. Most astoundingly, he has struck out 475 batters, which equals a whopping 15.3 batters per nine innings, according to Baseball-Reference.com. Plus, he's under team control for one more season.
However, closer is one of the most interchangeable positions on the field. Sure, whomever the Reds would get to replace Chapman would be a downgrade, but trading him now would also mean acquiring young prospects to help with a rebuild, which might be necessary for the Reds, especially if they lose Johnny Cueto this coming offseason.
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