The Cincinnati Reds made one of the most provocative moves of the Major League Baseball offseason without spending a dime or cracking the cover of a Scott Boras promotional binder. After an extensive internal debate in October, they decreed that Aroldis Chapman will move from the back end of the bullpen to the starting rotation, where they hope he will blossom into must-see viewing in installments of six innings or more.

Chapman stands 6-foot-4, 200 pounds and reached 100 mph on the radar gun a major league-high 242 times last season, according to the Bill James Handbook, so the best-case scenario calls for him to join fellow lefties CC Sabathia, David Price and Clayton Kershaw as a 200-inning workhorse and perennial Cy Young Award candidate. And if you want to really dream big, think back to a pitcher who spent two decades making left-handed hitters beg out of the lineup with stiff necks, head colds and other mystery ailments every time his turn in the rotation rolled around.

Aroldis Chapman pitched solely in relief for the Reds last season, recording 122 strikeouts in 71 2/3 innings pitched. Andy Lyons/Getty Images

Yes, Randy Johnson.

Bryan Price, Cincinnati's pitching coach, knows it's both premature and unfair to categorize Chapman as a Latin version of the Big Unit-in-waiting. But if Chapman is going to evolve as a pitcher and reach his maximum potential, Price is convinced it will have to come in the rotation. Chapman turns 25 in late February, and if the Reds pigeonhole him as a closer now, it's going to become progressively more difficult to change his long-term career arc.

"I hear the argument, 'Why mess with something when it's gone so well?'" Price said. "I get that. We have a really good team and the window of opportunity is now, and we may be better suited to Aroldis closing rather than starting because we already have a strong five-man rotation without him. I totally understand that.

"But I also have a feeling in my heart that he's not going to be the best possible pitcher he can be until he throws enough innings to master his craft. I think this kid has untapped potential, but it won't come out until we give him an opportunity to mature as a pitcher. Does he have a chance to be one of the better starters of his generation? The longer we wait, the less chance we have of ever finding out."

The stakes are high because the 2013 Reds have designs on winning the National League Central division and making a deep run in October. Reds fans have reason to wonder if Shin-Soo Choo can play an adequate defensive center field or if Joey Votto's knee will allow him to return to MVP form, but the Chapman storyline makes for meatier give-and-take based on a classic risk-versus-reward debate: Is the potential long-term benefit of moving Chapman to the rotation worth the short-term minefields the Reds might encounter?

Chapman was otherworldly in 2012, when he ranked with Atlanta's Craig Kimbrel and Tampa Bay's Fernando Rodney among the holy trinity of shutdown closers. He saved 38 games and averaged 15.32 strikeouts per nine innings, with a WHIP of 0.81. When he began popping the catcher's mitt in the bullpen, spirits immediately sank in dugouts throughout the National League.

Now the plan calls for Jonathan Broxton to slide into Chapman's old role and Sean Marshall to be the main setup man and Plan B closer. The success of the experiment depends almost as much on them as it does on Chapman.

Let the debate begin

The closer role has become so mythologized in recent years and is considered so integral to the success of contending teams, you don't have to look hard to find a scout or competing executive who questions the wisdom of the Reds' decision. Cincinnati's bullpen led the majors with a 2.65 ERA last season and ranked third with a .219 batting average against, and the Reds have weakened an obvious team strength.

"It's going to be fascinating to watch," said an AL talent evaluator, "but I think they're absolutely crazy doing what they're doing. They just won 97 games, and I don't think you mess with that. How many innings are you going to get out of him this year -- 130 or 140? They need to close out the games they're supposed to win, and it was damn near automatic when he came in the game. I would never even think about it, let alone try it."

Some of Chapman's teammates are similarly dubious. In December, starter Bronson Arroyo predicted that it will be "very difficult" for Chapman to move to the rotation, where he'll have to harness his fastball for much longer periods while navigating opposing lineups. Second baseman Brandon Phillips concurred with that assessment in an interview last week.

"If you want to go out there and win right now, I mean, I would keep him as the closer right now," Phillips told SiriusXM Sports. "That's my opinion. But hey, I'm not the GM."