The Marlins are interested in the services of Aroldis Chapman, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Miami would be better off looking elsewhere however, as Chapman comes with a myriad of issues.
Chapman is a seven-time All Star and a local guy, which makes him seem like a good target on the surface. Heck, the Marlins had tried to sign Chapman years ago actually. According to former team president David Samson, Chapman used Miami’s offer as leverage to land a better deal in New York with the Yankees. Chapman was interested in winning according to Samson and took a matched offer to play there. Winning wasn’t exactly a word that was used much with the Marlins at the time.
Chapman was an All-Star in 2021, but he was far from one in 2022. The reliever’s performance was so poor last season, that the Yankees were considering leaving him off their playoff roster. Chapman heard those rumblings and decided to skip a mandatory workout with the team to show his displeasure. In response, the Yankees did in fact leave him off the roster and let him walk following the season. Chapman’s decision to quit on his team in October told fans all they needed to know about his work ethic. Even if he felt he wouldn’t make the playoff roster, he was wrong to skip out on a mandatory workout.
Walking out on your team as the playoffs begin after laying an egg during the season, is just about the worst way you can enter free agency. That’s exactly what Chapman did, and it is a big reason why he is still a free agent a month before spring training opens. There’s just not much of a market for a player like that, and Miami surely doesn’t need that kind of attitude in the clubhouse.
Besides the aforementioned issues, we’d be remiss to leave out an off-field issue as well. Though Chapman was never charged for a domestic violence incident back in 2015, he was still suspended for 30 days by Major League Baseball. The details of the alleged incident were eye opening and disturbing. That incident has kept a dark cloud over Chapman’s career ever since.
With a relatively young roster, Miami needs good influences from the veterans in the dugout. New additions Jean Segura and Johnny Cueto represent exactly the kind of players Miami should be putting into the clubhouse. Chapman is the exact opposite.