MLB Trade Rumors: Reds Sign Aroldis Chapman to $30 Million Deal

We learned yesterday that the Reds have signed Cuban pitching prospect Aroldis Chapman to a 5-year $30 million deal.

Here is Yahoo Sport's Jeff Passan confirming the deal in his tweet:

Confirmed: LHP Aroldis Chapman agrees to five-year, $30 million contract with Cincinnati #Reds.

I have to say I am surprised that the Reds are the team that signed Chapman as I thought the Reds were trying to dump contracts earlier this offseason. Maybe restructuring Scott Rolen's contract allowed them to sign Chapman, I am not sure.

Or maybe this move will push them to deal Aaron Harang and his big 2010 contract? Time will tell.

We have written about Chapman here and here. It will be interesting how the Reds handle Chapman and we should know by the end of spring training if the Reds will fast track him or not.

That will determine if he is fantasy worthy in 2010 or not. It will also determine where he is drafted in the 2010 UBA minor league draft. Kevin Goldstein from Baseball Prospectus has already said he would rank Chapman in his top 10 overall.

Drew (New York): Arodlis Chapman seems to be on a roller coaster. Have his workouts changed some views, or is it more a function of interest going up as his rumored bonus demands go down? Where do you see him in a Top 100 list?

Kevin Goldstein: The second he signs, he's a single digit on my Top 100 list (well, per Steven Goldman, it's now a top 101). His workouts have been very good, and while it's still the usual suspects, there are some interesting sleepers staying in the process, like Toronto, Oakland and Philadelphia.

Here are Chapman's career stats courtesy of Baseball Prospectus.