Marlins Miss Out on Chapman Sweepstakes; Pitcher Signs with Reds

[Swifty]

In unrelated news, I have conceded defeat in my attempts to woo Scarlett Johansson.

[Omar]

Go back in this thread and look for the post where our offer, when taking taxes into account, was pretty close to Boston.

Lowball? Yes.

Silly? No.

Boston offered three years while we offered five.

[Party]

Shhhh.

[Jewbility]

Boog Sciambi says we probably didn't solely make the offer as an empty gesture--I trust him.

[Chewford]

  Spoiler:

I did indeed forgot the not

[Swifty]

I don't think anyone in our front office would be upset if he signed on those terms, so no, it wasn't an empty offer.

I defy anyone to explain how this offer even put us in the running when an admitted lowball substantially bested ours. Did it have our name mentioned in connection with him? Absolutely, but that's it, and clearly that's all we set out to do. If we wanted him, and the Yankees and Red Sox are both very afraid of going above 5 years or $20 mil with him, we could have had him. However, much like the JJ negotiations, wanted something and being willing to take the steps necessary to make it happen are clearly mutually exclusive when it comes to organizational policy.
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PS:

I'm quite happy we didn't sign him. He's going to be a decent major leaguer for someone, but he's going to probably end up being 32 a lot sooner than people think and the last thing we can afford to do is spend high end money on an uncertainty.

I would much rather see that money used on JJ or getting Smoltz.

[Jewbility]

I hate being defied!!

[Ramp]

He also averages like 6 walks per 9 in Cuba

[Party]

Yeah but in Cuba walks are handed out to batters based on need and not ability.

[The Hanram]

Yeah but in Cuba walks are handed out to batters based on need and not ability.

I see what you did there.

[THE_REAL_MIBS]

The race for the services of heralded Cuban pitcher Aroldis Chapman appears to be coming down to the wire, with the Blue Jays apparently putting themselves into the thick of things with a reported $23 million offer to the 21-year-old left-hander.

Miami-based Spanish newspaper El Nuevo Herald has reported that the numbers are similar to those offered by the Angels, the other team considered to be a front-runner for Chapman's services. Chapman is close friends with Angels first baseman Kendry Morales, who also defected from Cuba, and the two train together in Florida.

Other teams that had been in the running for Chapman, such as Baltimore, Houston and Florida and both New York-based teams, are believed to have dropped out of the bidding, while Boston, in the mix as late as Thursday, may now be lagging behind.

Jays join chase for Chapman

[m26555]

Aroldis Chapman has agreed to a $30MM with an unknown National League team, according to a tweet from Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports.

The last we heard on Chapman, his main suitors were American League teams (the Angels and Blue Jays) and the largest offer he'd received was around $23MM, so this would qualify as a major surprise.

Interesting.

[FishFanInPA]

my guess...the Mets

[m26555]

I'm thinking Washington. I don't think the Mets would spend that kind of money on an unproven product.
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UPDATE:

On Friday, SI.com's Jon Heyman named the Nationals and Marlins as two interested NL teams, but Florida's last bid was around $16MM, so it's unlikely that they nearly doubled their offer to the lefty. Earlier in the week, we heard that the Astros and Mets were out of the running for Chapman. Washington looks like the favorite, but we'll have to wait for more details on this one.

[Beef]

I read weeks ago that his agent was waiting for $30 million. It appears he got it