Royals Sign Former All-Star Aroldis Chapman to One-Year Deal
The Kansas City Royals have made their first notable off-season acquisition, landing left-hander Aroldis Chapman in free agency.
Chapman, a seven-time All-Star and the 2019 AL Reliever of the Year Award winner, reportedly agreed to a one-year contract worth $3.75 million with Kansas City on Thursday, according to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand.
The deal is pending a physical and will include performance bonuses – although the amount of his incentives remains unknown – once finalized.
The 34-year-old, originally signed as an amateur free agent by the Cincinnati Reds in 2010, spent the last six seasons with the New York Yankees and was an All-Star in three campaigns. He served as the club’s primary closer for most of his tenure, recording at least 20 saves in four of his six seasons.
In his prime, Chapman was one of the top closers in baseball – if not the best – notching 30 saves or more with at least a 40 percent strikeout rate each season from 2012-16. He was also worth 13.0 fWAR over those five seasons, the highest among big-league relievers.
Chapman, however, is coming off a miserable 2022 performance as he posted career worsts in ERA (4.46), xERA (4.46), FIP (4.57), strikeout rate (26.9 percent), strikeout-to-walk rate difference (9.4 percent) and fWAR (-0.2) over 36.1 innings.
The veteran lefty struggled to stay healthy last season, missing nine total weeks due to left Achilles tendinitis and an infection in his leg from a tattoo, ultimately losing his closer’s role to Clay Holmes. And he was held off New York’s ALDS roster after failing to attend a mandatory team workout late in the season.
Along with his inconsistent availability, Chapman also endured issues with his explosive fastball – his primary weapon – as its average velocity declined from 98.3 m.p.h. in 2021 to 97.5 m.p.h. in ‘22. That has also been a continuing trend since 2017.
Source: BaseballSavant
As a result, Chapman couldn’t dominate opposing hitters with his four-seamer like in previous seasons, leading to the lowest chase rate (16.1 percent) and third-lowest strikeout rate (22.1 percent) against his heater. It also earned its second-worst run value (+2) since the stat was first recorded in 2017.
At 34, soon-to-be 35, enjoying a bounce-back performance next season could be challenging for the former shutdown closer, especially with his velocity on the decline. But if the struggling hurler can regain his command, cutting down walks, he could be a serviceable reliever with the Royals.
Kansas City’s bullpen was atrocious in 2022, ranking tied for 23rd in fWAR (1.8), 24th in FIP (4.18), tied for 26th in strikeout rate (21.2 percent), 27th in ERA (4.66), tied for 29th in OPP AVG (.254) and 30th in K-BB rate difference (10.2 percent) among MLB franchises.
The Royals – particularly closer Scott Barlow – need as much help as possible to avoid another horrendous showing in 2023. And if Chapman performs well, he could be a valuable trade chip closer to the midseason deadline.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @ThomasHall85
Photo: Keith Allison. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.