The Cincinnati Reds and Cuban closer Aroldis Chapman agreed to a one-year deal to avoid arbitration. Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports that the sides came to an agreement literally minutes before his arbitration hearing was scheduled to begin.
"We got it done probably 15-20 minutes before everyone was to go into the [hearing] room," Reds general manager Walt Jocketty said from Arizona.
Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports reports the deal to be worth $8.05M. The Reds are extremely arbitration averse, having not gone to one in over a decade (2004). Last week, the Reds agreed to a deal for All-Star third baseman Todd Frazier as well.
The agreed-to $8.05M salary was much closer to the reported $8.7M sought by Chapman and his agent, vs. $6.65M offered by the Reds. This was Chapman's first foray into the contracts side of the game since he was signed after from defecting from Cuba in 2010. That deal according to Baseball-Reference was worth 5-years, $13.85M (with a sixth year, $5M option held by the 26-year-old Chapman, which was wisely declined).
Chapman more than earned that pay, having made three All-Star teams (2012 - 2014) and recorded 36 saves or more in each of the past three seasons since being moved to the back end of the bullpen. His closer dominance is evidenced by a career 15.3 K/9IP as a result of his 100+ MPH fastball combined with a devastating slider. His 2014 season was even more impressive after he had a horrible scare that spring training with a batted ball striking his face and causing multiple fractures.
The lefty will have one more year of arbitration before he hits the open free agent market in 2017. Like Todd Frazier, should the Reds be out of contention in the stacked National League Central, he would be a prime candidate to bring back top prospects via trade.