Chapman is an effective reliever, but no longer in his prime
The Boston Red Sox added a big arm to their bullpen Tuesday when they reportedly signed Aroldis Chapman.
But the version of Chapman the Red Sox are getting is much different than the one who put together three All-Star campaigns in four seasons with the New York Yankees from 2018-2021.
Chapman is no longer at the height of his powers and no longer flashes triple digits regularly on the radar gun. The veteran left-hander, who is joining his fourth team in five seasons, has still shown to be an effective reliever in the latter stages of his career, though.
The Red Sox reportedly handed Chapman a one-year, $10.75 million contract and he fills a a need for Boston in a bullpen which lacked flamethrowers, especially left-handed ones, this past season.
This signing a few years ago probably would have netted rave reviews, but with Chapman holding onto a solid but diminishing arsenal as he enters his 16th MLB season, ESPN’s David Schoenfield gave the Red Sox a B- grade for bringing aboard Chapman.
“He’s not really closer material these days, though, as he hasn’t posted an ERA under 3.00 since 2019 and his last season as a full-time closer was 2021, when he saved 30 games for the Yankees,” Schoenfield wrote. “Chapman turns 37 in February and while he no longer reaches triple digits on every pitch, his fastball still averaged 98.7 mph and he racked up 98 strikeouts in 61 2/3 innings for the Pirates. His biggest change over the past two seasons is mixing in a sinker a lot more often than simply relying on his four-seamer/slider/splitter.
“Doing that hasn’t helped him cut down on his walks, though — he still averaged 5.7 walks per nine innings and hasn’t been under 5.0 in a full season since 2019. That makes Chapman a difficult pitcher to completely trust as your ninth-inning reliever and pushes him into more of a setup role.”
Despite an underwhelming grade from Schoenfield, Chapman should still be an upgrade to a Boston bullpen which struggled late in games throughout the 2024 season.
Chapman likely will hold down the eighth-inning role with Chris Martin and Kenley Jansen both free agents. And as Schoenfield noted, the Red Sox still have plenty of time to add a top-tier closer like Kirby Yates, Tanner Scott or Jeff Hoffman through free agency. They also have an in-house closer candidate in Liam Hendriks, but Hendriks comes with plenty of questions since he hasn’t pitched in the majors since June 2023.
Having Chapman gives the Red Sox flexibility as he can serve as a setup man or potential backup closer option. And perhaps Chapman is the first domino to fall in what could be a massive offseason for the Red Sox.
