Aroldis Chapman‘s decision to sign with the Kansas City Royals has brought a lot of controversy, because the Miami Marlins were believed to be in on the accomplished reliever.
Marlins insider Craig Mish had stated that Miami didn’t offer him a contract, contradicting a Randy Miller report.
“I’m hearing Aroldis Chapman turned down more money from Padres to sign with Royals for one year at $3.75M. He wants to close and he’ll do that in KC. Marlins offered $2M,” Miller tweeted.
I’m hearing Aroldis Chapman turned down more money from Padres to sign with Royals for one year at $3.75M. He wants to close and he’ll do that in KC. Marlins offered $2M.
— Randy Miller (@RandyJMiller) January 19, 2023
Ignoring the Marlins’ official involvement in the Chapman sweepstakes, we see that the Royals weren’t actually the best offer.
That “honor”, if we can call it that way, belonged to the San Diego Padres.
The Padres were interested in the former New York Yankees closer, but he ended up taking the Royals offer because they give him a more concrete chance to close games.
Chapman, with 315 career saves, wants to keep increasing that number with a future Hall of Fame case in mind.
Additionally, more saves can give him a better chance to secure a bigger payday next winter, when he re-enters the free agency process.
In short, he sacrificed some money in the present to position himself for a better pay next year, and to help him get more saves.
He would have no business closing games in San Diego: they have Josh Hader for that role, and Robert Suarez is probably next in line.
Chapman, who posted a disappointing 4.46 ERA in 2022 with lots of control issues, has a prime chance to bounce back and resurrect his career in Kansas City.
NEXT: MLB World Reacts To The Aroldis Chapman News