Free to Sign

Word came down late Friday that Cuban defector/fireballer, Aroldis Chapman has been declared a free agent by MLB and is therefore free to sign with the highest bidder. It seems to me that that will be the Yankees. Ever since the 21 year old's defection was confirmed, around the July 2 opening of the IFA season, the Yanks have appeared to be keeping their powder dry. In fact, it seems like they've abandoned an earlier plan that would have seen them adding as many as 25 IFA's by the end of the year. For his part, Chapman is a long, lean lefty whose fastball has been clocked at over 100 mph in international competition. His secondary stuff seems fringy at this point, and the development of those extra pithes will determine weather or not Chapman will be a starter or impact reliever in the bigs. This could come together, one way or the other, pretty quickly.