Cincinnati Reds fans thrilled as closer Aroldis Chapman wants to finish his career in Cincinnati: "Bring him home" "He made games exciting"
Aroldis Chapman wants to close out his career where it all started, the Cincinnati Reds. After defecting from Cuba in 2009, Cincinnati signed the hard-throwing lefty in 2010, when he made his debut, and the rest was history.
He spent six seasons in Cincinnati before being traded to the New York Yankees in 2016. Since then, he's had two stints in New York, a season with the Chicago Cubs and now the Kansas City Royals.
Aroldis Chapman told the Cincinnati Enquirer before Monday's game in Kansas City that he would LOVE to finish his career with the #Reds
Chapman was a 4 time All Star in Cincinnati and had one of the best entrances in the game of baseball to close out games.
As a Red, he… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… https://t.co/VGfLyGcZfZ
Chapman's six seasons with the Reds represent the longest tenure of his career. During that time, he threw the fastest-recorded pitch in MLB history, clocking in at 105.1 mph.
Not many relief pitchers bring with them the same enigma that Chapman does. While he throws hard, he's also 6-foot-4, which makes it seem like he's only a few feet away from the batter when he releases the ball.
"Bring him home," one fan tweeted.
@Nati_Sports Bring him home
"He made games exciting! That would be a great ending, Chapman retiring as a Red again," another fan tweeted.
@Nati_Sports He made games exciting! That would be a great ending, Chapman retiring as a Red again
@Nati_Sports Would be a great addition to the young guns and fun baseball mindset that has arisen in Nati!!
@Nati_Sports Where do I sign up for this?
Cincinnati Reds fans would welcome back Aroldis Chapman with open arms. They're starting to become an exciting team and could use some veteran presence around the dugout.
@Nati_Sports It really would make a lot of sense for everyone involved. A LHP on a non contender, to a borderline contender who has 1 LH reliever.
Doubt they get it done though
@Nati_Sports Yup. Once a red always a red. Bring him back
@Nati_Sports Reds need him in the bullpen
@Nati_Sports Makes me so happy to hear that it’s a possibility. Just can’t give up young prospects we value
@Nati_Sports i want him back in the nati so bad
Fans think Chapman would be a great addition to their bullpen. You can't have too many high-leverage arms in the bullpen.
The Cincinnati Reds would have a tough bullpen with the addition of Aroldis Chapman
The Cincinnati Reds already have a solid bullpen with guys like Lucas Sims and Alexis Diaz. They only have a few left-handed options, and none of those are high-leverage arms.
Although Aroldis Chapman doesn't have the same velocity he did when he first came into the league, he's still elite on the mound. He's learned to use his offspeed stuff more as his velocity has decreased with age.
In 23.1 innings pitched, Chapman has a 2.70 ERA with 41 strikeouts. He's off to a much better start than how his season ended in 2022.
The New York Yankees kept him off the postseason roster after he missed a mandatory workout. Before that, the Yankees were thinking about cutting him completely. It was a rough ending to his career in New York, and he'd like to put that behind him.
As teams prepare for the trade deadline in a few months, Chapman will be a name many teams will be after. It will be interesting to see if Cincinnati can land Chapman and make his wishes come true.