Cincinnati Reds manager Dusty Baker wants to know soon whether left-hander Aroldis Chapman will be a starter or closer this season.
“I don’t like having guys in the middle,” Baker said, according to The Cincinnati Enquirer. “That’s a bad situation when you’re in the middle of anything. An unknown. Then everybody else is in an unknown situation. That’s unfair to him or us — the situation he’s been put in. He was in that same situation last year.
“I’d like to make a decision in the next week or so, so I can get my team together. The decision is not only mine, it’s ours. But I got my opinion.”
If Baker had his druthers, the hard-throwing Chapman would be the Reds’ closer. In that role last season, Chapman logged 38 saves and a 5-5 record with 23 walks and 122 strikeouts in 68 games.
The 25-year-old Chapman and right-hander Mike Leake, a starter last year, are vying for a spot in the rotation in spring training. Each will start a split-squad game Saturday against San Francisco.