The Contract Aroldis Chapman Wants Would Shatter Record For Relievers
Tom Bogert, CBS Local Sports
Aroldis Chapman is hitting the free agency this winter and his demands are simple (stands on chair, channels inner Cuba Gooding Jr. from Jerry Maguire): "SHOW ME THE MONEY!"
Fresh off winning a World Series with the Chicago Cubs a week ago, Chapman's sights are all set on his future. It looks more than likely he won't be returning to Wrigley, but the New York Yankees are interested in potentially bringing him back.
But he certainly won't come cheap. Chapman isn't simply yearning for the richest contract in baseball history for a reliever, he wants to absolutely shatter it, according to CSN Chicago's Patrick Mooney. Mooney reports that 'one plugged-in agent' tells him that Chapman wants $100million.
As baseball continues to evolve, a ton of emphasis has been placed on the bullpen in recent years. The Kansas City Royals were the vanguard of this expedition, winning a World Series thanks in large part to one of the best bullpens ever composed. The Yankees continued that trend last offseason when they traded for Chapman despite having what may have already been the best bullpen in the league.
There's no precedence for the money Chapman wants but it doesn't matter as two of the richest franchises in the sport could enter a bidding war for his services: the Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers.
In 2011, the Philadelphia Phillies gave Jonathan Papelbon $50million across four years which still stands as the record for money given to a reliever. If any reliever were to breach three digit millions, then it'd probably be Chapman and his three digit MPH fastball.
