Can the Diamondbacks Actually Land Aroldis Chapman?
The Arizona Diamondbacks have been linked as serious suitors for Cincinnati Reds closer Aroldis Chapman.
Sources: Diamondbacks, Reds are talking about Aroldis Chapman. D'backs doing due diligence on him. Ask is huge, but may be something there.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 28, 2015
It seems to be a bit of a stretch for the Diamondbacks to land Chapman as the front office would most likely look to not include top prospect Peter O’Brien in a deal. Any deal involving Chapman to Arizona would come at a price, likely including O’Brien.
Another top prospect, Brandon Drury, could also be included in the deal. As much as I would like to see Drury, 22, run shop at third base in the future for the Diamondbacks, he is the main prospect that I would not mind the front office parting ways with to nab Chapman.
At the moment, a closer isn’t necessarily the top need for the Diamondbacks however. Brad Ziegler has been a stud since transitioning into the Diamondbacks closer as he has just a 1.21 ERA and 17 saves on the year.
Would moving Ziegler to an 8th inning role with Chapman as the closer in the 9th be ideal? Oh, of course. But, are there other needs that could be addressed instead of a new closer? Yes sir. Yes ma’am.
If the Diamondbacks are to make a move that includes moving some of their top prospects they must go after starting pitching.
Arizona starters rank 24th in the MLB in ERA with a 4.41 mark. They do their bullpen no justice as they rank 26th in the majors in innings pitched with just 571.1 innings.
The starting rotation is the glaring need in the organization and one of the major reasons the team does not have a better record than they do right now. The offense does their job in putting runs up on the board, but the starters must go deeper in games or else the bullpen will have a load of dead arms come late-August.