Aroldis Chapman’s defection from Cuba made many Major League Baseball general managers very happy. The 21-year-old pitcher has a fastball that has been clocked at over 100 MPH. And to top it off, he’s a lefty.
After establishing residency in the tiny country of Andorra, Chapman is now a free agent. There has already been talk that a big league team may be interested in paying him upwards of $50 million. Which teams are possible destinations for Aroldis Chapman? Let’s take a look:
New York Yankees
The Yankees always like to spend money. Considering that starting pitching depth was their weakness this season, …read more

If you are a fan of the New York Mets, you have to hope that the injury bug is handing out a few years worth of injuries this season. On Wednesday, the Mets announced that starting pitcher Oliver Perez needs knee surgery and will be out for the rest of the season. Perez will join 12 other players on the disabled list.
Unlike David Wright, Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado, who are also on the disabled list, the Mets likely won’t miss Perez much. After signing a three-year contract worth $36 million in the offseason, Perez has been horrible. …read more

Johan Santana of the New York Mets, regarded by some as the best pitcher in baseball, needs elbow surgery and will miss the rest of the 2009 baseball season. The surgery is needed due to the presence of bone chips in his pitching elbow.
The good news for Santana is that this surgery is relatively minor. The Mets fully expect their ace to be ready to go at the start of next season’s spring training. In fact, Santana had a similar procedure prior to the 2003 season.
For the Mets, they’ve dealt with a number of injuries all season — Santana is …read more

Eric Bruntlett found a unique way to end Sunday’s contest between the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Mets. With runners on first and second, Bruntlett caught a liner, stepped on second and tagged out the runner to turn an unassisted triple play. It was only the second time in baseball history that an unassisted triple play ended a ballgame.
With a 9-7 victory, the Phillies also helped Pedro Martinez up his record this season to 2-0. He went six innings and gave up seven hits and four earned runs. Oliver Perez picked up the loss for the Mets after giving …read more

Reports have surfaced that Billy Wagner, regarded as one of the top closers in the history of baseball and currently a member of the New York Mets, has been claimed off waivers by the Boston Red Sox. The Mets now have four days to trade him to the Red Sox, let the Red Sox have him or simply reclaim him. The news has been reported by ESPN.com.
Since undergoing Tommy John surgery last year, Wagner just recently returned to the pitching mound. In his first appearance, which came on Thursday, Wagner struck out two hitters in a hitless one inning of …read more

Since the All-Star break, Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals had been in a slump. He was hitting just .226 with two homers and five RBIs in 62 at-bats. On Tuesday, that slump came to a screeching halt.
Against the New York Mets, Pujols was 4-for-5 with two homers, three runs, five RBIs and a walk. His first homer came in the 8th inning but it was his home run in the tenth that was the story. With the bases loaded in extra inning, Pujols blasted a grand slam to put the contest out of reach.
When all was said and …read more

Tony Bernazard, the New York Mets VP for player development, reportedly unleashed an epic tirade aimed at a Mets minor league affiliate. According to the New York Daily News, Bernazard the minor league team to a fight. Apparently Mets prospect Jose Coronado was the focus of Bernazard’s tirade.
During the tired, Bernazard reportedly even took off his shirt during the incident. With the Double-A Binghamton Mets in the midst of a stretch where the team lost 6-of-7 games, Bernazard apparently had enough.
Another report, by FoxSports.com, says that the Mets will conduct an internal investigation to see if Bernazard did anything inappropriate. …read more

A couple years ago, Jeff Francoeur looked like a player on the verge of becoming a superstar with the Atlanta Braves. The home grown outfielder had 29 homers and 103 RBIs as a 22-year-old in 2006.
But now at 25, Francoeur has struggled for the last year and a half. On Friday, the Braves decided to go in a new direction. They traded Francoeur to the New York Mets for Ryan Church.
On the season, Francoeur is hitting .250 with five homers, 35 RBIs and 32 runs. After hitting 29 homers in 2006, his power numbers have dropped considerably. In 2007, he …read more

Getting the last four outs against the New York Mets, Mariano Rivera got the 500th save of his Hall of Fame career. His save capped a 4-2 win by the New York Yankees and improved the team’s record to 43-32.
Rivera is currently second on the all-time saves record list. Only Trevor Hoffman has more. Hoffman, who is currently with the Milwaukee Brewers, has 571 saves.
On the season, Rivera has a 2.93 ERA and has 18 saves in 19 save opportunities. In 30.2 innings, he has 39 strikeouts and only three walks. Even at 39, Rivera appears to be near the …read more

When the New York Yankees gave A.J. Burnett a big contract in the offseason, this was the type of production they wanted. On Saturday against the New York Mets, Burnett gave up only one hit in seven innings while striking out ten. His pitching effort led the Yankees to a 5-0 victory.
Burnett on the season now has a 3.93 ERA to go along with a record of 6-4. Although he got off to a relatively slow start, Burnett has gotten better and better. In his last three starts, the 32-year-old has given up one earned run in more than 20 …read more