Once Chapman was declared a free agent by Major League Baseball, speculation was that the 21-year-old's asking price might make big-market, deep-pocketed clubs favorites to acquire Chapman. But that proved to be a wrong assumption.If you ask me, being able to afford those luxuries are what has put the Yankees past the rest of the competition in the past and can continue to do so in the future. I respect the Yankees sticking to their target payroll, but I don't think the fact that Chapman was a luxury should have kept them from signing him.
Many teams, such as the Red Sox and Yankees, were indicating to Hendricks they viewed Chapman as mostly a luxury. Boston, which had recently signed free agent John Lackey, already had a stocked pitching staff. So did the Yankees. Clubs like these viewed Chapman as part of their big league plans -- in 2011 or '12.
As we find out later in the article, that might not have been the only reason he signed with the Reds:
The Reds presented themselves as a younger club that could provide a chance for Chapman to pitch in the Majors in 2010.That makes sense, especially from the player's perspective. He doesn't want to come to America and spend a few seasons in the minors. Something he would likely have had to do as a Yankee.
“So here’s the metaphor I used when teams expressed concern this would be for just the highest bidder, like New York or Boston,” Hendricks said. “‘If I had a great first baseman from Cuba, do you think I’d call the St. Louis Cardinals first?’ We wanted opportunity. We would like to put him in a system where he’d have an opportunity to emerge sooner.”
