After Chapman addition, will Pirates add or stay put with rotation?
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If had you asked me a week ago, it seemed like a near certainty that the Pirates would add one more starting pitcher behind Mitch Keller, Martín Pérez and Marco Gonzales.
Now, I still see it as a possibility, but I’m less sure. Aroldis Chapman’s acquisition is a big reason why.
A source told MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand on Monday that the Pirates and Chapman are in agreement on a one-year, $10.5 million pact. Chapman is not a reliever like Jordan Hicks, who can be stretched out to start. He’s a true one-inning shutdown guy when he’s at his best.
On the night we learned of Chapman’s deal, we also learned of reports a couple of hours later that James Paxton was going to the Dodgers on a one-year contract worth at least $11 million with incentives — right around the value of Chapman’s contract. Paxton was a fairly reliable mid-rotation starter from 2016-19, but he hasn’t made more than 20 starts in a season since then, and he has a 4.90 ERA in 25 starts (117 2/3 innings) in the four seasons that followed that stretch.
What this interesting day of reports suggests to me is that the market for starting pitching is quite high now that the top options outside of Blake Snell are off the board.
On the trade side, Feinsand heard from a National League executive that they believe Dylan Cease “doesn’t get moved at this point,” and an American
League executive told him they think the Guardians will keep Shane Bieber. The Marlins have a couple of interesting pitchers in Edward Cabrera and Jesús Luzardo, but Feinsand’s report indicates that the asking price has still been quite high in recent talks.
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