Reds still not sure of Chapman’s role
Published 3:12 am Wednesday, December 7, 2011
DALLAS (AP) — The Cincinnati Reds are still trying to figure out whether Aroldis Chapman will wind up as a starter or closer.
The Cuban left-hander with a fastball that regularly tops 100 mph has pitched in 69 games during his two-year career in the majors, all of them in relief.
Reds manager Dusty Baker says the team hoped to stretch out the 23-year-old Chapman in the Arizona Fall League and then send him to pitch in Puerto Rico. But Baker said the plan didn’t work because the Reds found Chapman has weakness in his shoulder.
“So right now we’re back to the drawing board, I guess,” Baker said Monday at the winter meetings. “I’d love to tell you a definitive answer, I just don’t have one.”