In a previous article, I predicted that Aroldis Chapman would go to the Angels or at least another big market club. I was wrong. Chapman signed with the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday for 6 years and $30.25 million. Apparently the Reds had been “going after him like crazy” according to a source. The December 15th workout that took place in Houston rapidly increased his stock. Initial bids for Chapman were made by the Marlins and Red Sox and hovered around the $15 million mark. So its apparent he impressed scouts.

He immediately becomes the top prospect in the Reds organization. He will be groomed as a starter. Some predict that he will end up in the high minor leagues while others think he could start the year in the Reds rotation. More than likely, he will start in the minors to work on his delivery. The Reds envision him as an eventual top of the rotation guy.

The signing by the Reds surprises me. For instance, Chapman never watched a single MLB game and couldn’t name all the teams in the league. He even had to look at a map before he decided. It is surprising because the Reds have not had a winning season in nine seasons. They are also not a high revenue team ($72.6 million last year and expected to drop).

Apparently once he learned about the Reds, he became deeply interested. The fact that manager Dusty Baker, catcher Ramon Hernandez and pitching coach Bryan Price all speak Spanish probably factored into his decision, as Chapman speaks no English. The team also has 10 other players from Latin America.

One reason Chapman chose the Reds had to be because they offered the best deal. The Reds can afford this deal because of the structure of the contract. The $30.25 million deal includes a $16.25 million signing bonus paid over time. The guaranteed money is paid over a 10 year period. Therefore, the signing doesn’t affect the Reds current payroll. The Reds could also shed more payroll by not picking up options for Bronson Arroyo and Aaron Harang in 2011.

Congratulations to Randy and Alan Hendricks. Team officials involved in the deal praised the Hendricks brothers for the transparency they applied to Chapman. This was by far the most anticipated signing of the off-season and it seems to be a good fit for both parties involved.

Editor’s Note: The full breakdown of Chapman’s contract is below.

• Signing bonuses: $1.5 million when contract approved by MLB, $1.5 million November 1, 2010/2011/2012/2013 , and $1.25 million November 1 2014/2015/2016/2017/2018/2019/2020.
• Guaranteed salary of $1 million in 2010 and 2011, $2 million  in 2012 and 2013, and $3 million in 2014.  Within 5 days of the 2014 World Series, Chapman must decide whether to exercise a $5 million player option for 2015.
• If Chapman is eligible for salary arbitration after the 2012 season, he would get $5 million converted to a bonus and become eligible for arbitration.
• If Chapman is arbitration eligible after the 2013 season, he would get $3 million converted to a bonus and then be eligible for arbitration.

Where: University of Kansas School of Law, Green Hall Room 104, 1535 W. 15th St.  Lawrence, KS 66045

When: Thursday, April 9, 2009 – 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Schedule:

• 1:00 – 1:05:  Introduction, Brian Martinek, 2L, Vice President KU Sports & Entertainment Law Society
• 1:05 – 2:15:  Panel One – The Bases are Loaded with Lawyers
  • Collective Bargaining:  Strikes, Lockouts, and the Hundred Year War Between Players and Owners
    • Steve Fehr, Outside Counsel for the Major League Baseball Players Association
  • The Lawyer as Agent:  Representing the Superstar, the Role Player, and the Draft Pick
    • Randy Hendricks, Managing Partner, Hendricks Sports Management LLP
  • Maximizing the Players’ Right of Publicity
    • Judy Heeter, Major League Baseball Players Association Director of Business Affairs and Licensing
• 2:15 – 2:20:  Break
• 2:20 – 3:30:  Panel Two – The Program:  An Inside and Outside Look at College Athletic Departments
  • The Athletic Department:  Compliance and Investigation of Infractions
    • Chris Howard, Associate Athletics Director, University of Kansas
  • Representing the University:  When the Lawyers Get Involved
    • Steve Morgan, Bond, Shoeneck & King, PLLC
• 3:30 – 3:35:  Break
• 3:35 – 4:15:  Panel Three – So You Want to be Jerry Maguire?
  • Representing Professional Athletes:  Stories from the Front Lines
    • Kevin Regan, Founder and President, Regan Law Firm, LLC
• 4:15 – 5:00:  Reception

*There will be a Q & A near the end of every panel.

Cost: Free

Any questions please contact Brian Martinek at brian.martinek@gmail.com.

Andy Pettite

Jason Varitek was offered arbitration by the Red Sox, where Varitek would have received at least $10 million.  Scott Boras advised Varitek to reject the arbitration offer.  Since no other teams have bit the Varitek line, the Red Sox have all the leverage and are offering a Pettite-like $5 million guaranteed for one year of service plus a couple of options.

How long will Manny Ramirez play the waiting game?

On to my notes:

• As I mentioned in the comments of the Thursday post, Gerrit Cole will go to UCLA instead of the Yankees.
• I errored in the Thursday post.  Aaron Crow was actually being advised by Randy Hendricks.  Besides Crow, the other two first round players that did not sign are Boras clients (the aforementioned Cole and Josh Fields).
• Every pick in the Supplemental 1st round, 6th round, and 8th round signed with the teams that chose them.
• Watch out for UGA.  Georgia will receive two highly touted players who did not sign: Chase Davidson (3rd round) and Zach Cone (Supplemental 3rd round).
• Robbie Ross ended up being the highest paid player in the second round – $1.575 million.  The Texas Rangers will be happy to pay the left-handed pitcher.
• The highest paid fourth round player is no longer a tie.  Tim Melville, who would have been picked much higher minus his demand for big money, ended up receiving $1.250 million from the Royals.
• Adrian Nieto’s $376k in the fifth round was impressive until the Red Sox pushed over a cool $2 million to Ryan Westmoreland.
• The Pirates spent big money in the sixth round on Robbie Grossman – $1 million.
• A bunch of unsigned tenth rounders will be going to California schools.

If you want to get an early start on tracking the guys that we will be discussing around this time next year, tune in to ESPNU tomorrow (Sunday) at 2 p.m. EST to watch the Under Armour All-America Baseball Game.