Chapman recently gained MLB free agent status after establishing residency in Andorra. He initially thought that MLB GMs would come to him, but he noticed that nobody really was jumping at the idea of going to Europe. So, he has come to NY to meet with GM's.
Now, for those who don't know, Chapman is the 21 yr old Cuban lefty who stands 6'4 179lbs and has been clocked as high as 103mph. He has a slider that has plus potential but sits at only average at this point and really didnt show much else. Unfortunately, video beyond his WBC days is limited due to the restrictions on travel to Cuba. SO it is unknown if he actually throws another pitch consistently.
His stats from the Cuban national team were not terribly impressive, but he was one of the youngest players in that league. He had a 4.08ERA in 118IP and did not fare well in the WBC in a short stint.
Regardless, lefties with his frame and his power are exceedingly rare. Chapman is expected to be offered $40-60mil over a specified amount of yrs (likely 4-6) and will probably start his American professional career in the minors.
Teams interested are many, and the top suitors are expected to be the Yankees and the Sox. Now, Chapman is not the only big name INTL FA available. Yusei Kikuchi, the 18 yr old lefty who apparently throws 96mph from Japan is expected to be a hot commodity, and there is always the possibility that Yu Darvish gets posted a bit early. Regardless, expect there to be another big time bidding war. It should be fun.
In terms of my thoughts on these guys. Chapman sounds like he could be a very, very good reliever, and potentially a top notch closer with his power. He will need a lot of work to become a starter, but his raw tools are about as rare as they come. Kikuchi is very young, but might be more polished than Chapman in terms of his control. And Darvish is the holy grail per the Japanese media, but we all know how that can work out (see Matsuzaka, Daisuke). All of these guys have risk, but I have a very strong feeling that Chapman ends up in NY and Kikuchi ends up in Boston.