The Boston Red Sox are signing reliever Aroldis Chapman to a 1 year, $10.75M contract according to reports out of Boston.
The Red Sox, whose bullpen finished 24th in ERA last season, was in need of a LHP, and addressed that need with a proven late innings reliever in Chapman. The 6’4″ lefty went 5-5 with a 3.79 ERA, and 98 K’s across 61.2IP for Pittsburgh in 2024. He also mixed in 14 saves for good measure while playing a variety of high leverage roles for the Pirates.
The soon to be 37 year old figures to play a role in the late inning rotation alongside RHPs Liam Hendricks, and Justin Slaten.
Boston remain heavily involved in the Juan Soto sweepstakes, but still faced several areas needing improvement roster wise heading into 2025. “I truly believe this is the last struggle. I do believe we’re going to turn the corner in the offseason,” manager Alex Cora said following the conclusion of the 2024 campaign.
The club has been linked to Corbin Burnes, Roki Sasaki, Jack Flaherty and Max Fried to help solidify a rotation that’s on the upswing, but devoid of star power. And just because Chapman has joined the mix, don’t expect the club to be done kicking the tires on other potential relievers this winter as well.
Tanner Scott, Clay Holmes, and Carlos Estevez are some of the household names still on the free agent market, and one can assume that Craig Breslow & Co. will at least check in on their asking prices in the coming weeks.
Another impact bat is likely on many-a-Sox fan’s holiday wish list as well, but until Soto finally makes his decision, it’s likely that the hitter’s market will remain in a state of limbo.
Photo: Keith Allison. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.