Former DC GM Jim Bowden sent out a Twitter message this afternoon which predicted the final destination for free agent left-hander Aroldis Chapman. "Chapman leaning towards Marlins," Mr. Bowden wrote, "despite (the Marlins) not (being the) highest bidder." MLBTraderumors.com's Mark Polishuk has been tracking the Chapman chatter in a post entitled, "Aroldis Chapman decision coming soon", which started with a link to an article by the Florida Sun-Sentinels' Juan C. Rodriguez entitled, "Florida Marlins: 'Still in game' for Chapman, Uggla to stay put", about the Marlins' continued attempts to land the Cuban-born free agent, and later in the day, the MLBTraderumors.com writer posted links to both ESPN.com's Buster Olney Twitter account and an article by MLB.com's Brian McTaggart entitled, "Astros decide to pass on Chapman", wherein it was announced that three teams, the Yankees, Mets and Astros were taking themselves out of the running...As Wednesday wound down, however...Miami Herald writer Clark Spencer tweeted that, "Internally, the Marlins have conceded defeat in the bidding for Cuban pitcher Aroldis Chapman." Which left...which teams exactly?
The Florida Sun-Sentinels' Juan C. Rodriguez quoted an anonymous "industry source" who said that, "...he expected Chapman ultimately to sign with either the Angels or Blue Jays for around $21 million," and expected the decision in three or four days. The Angels and their Kendry Morales connection? The SB Nation's Los Angeles Angels site, Halo Heaven, is keeping a close eye on the story in an article entitled, "Aroldis Chapman Rejects Mets, Close to Angels". Will Chapman sign with the Blue Jays, who (according to ESPN.com's Jorge Arangure, Jr.) had Chapman in for a private workout recently? A report from Masterdeportes.com's Jose Nicholas Gomez Tejada -- twitter.com/Masterdeportes --entitled, "Many Clubs Interested in Aroldis Chapman", alleges that the Angels are offering Chapman a $21 million dollar deal for an unspecified number of years...(ed. note - "For the record, after MLB.com's Bill Ladson sent out a message on his Twitter feed about the Nationals still being interested in Orlando Hudson, I asked if Washington was still searching for pitching, and his response included Aroldis Chapman on a list of pitchers the Nationals have already talked about and still remain interested in..."):
"The same guys we have heard about: John Smoltz, Vincente Padilla, Aroldis Chapman, Jarrod Washburn and Doug Davis."
Is Chapman a one or two pitch pitcher? Will he develop into a starter or a reliever? How high will the bidding go? We may know before the week is over...