Boston Red Sox fans have spent the last couple of weeks with dreams of a massive offseason dancing through their heads. The team was coming on strong to land the biggest fish of the winter in Juan Soto (at least according to certain corners of the baseball internet). Trade talks with Garrett Crochet were ongoing, and Craig Breslow was sniffing around seemingly every single one of the biggest starting pitchers on the free-agent market. With John Henry finally, at long last, willing to splash some cash, plus an exciting young core and a bunch of prospect help on the way, the Red Sox were ready to rocket to the top of the American League.
Maybe that will all still come to pass. The offseason is young, after all, and there’s plenty of time left. But suffice to say that when Boston fans were hoping that their team would sign a former New York Yankee, this isn’t what they had in mind: According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the Red Sox have made Aroldis Chapman their first big acquisition of the winter, signing the 36-year-old lefty to a one-year, $10.75 million deal.
Left-handed reliever Aroldis Chapman and the Boston Red Sox are in agreement on a one-year, $10.75 million contract, pending physical, sources tell ESPN. Boston sought left-handed help for its bullpen and lands the 36-year-old Chapman. @ChrisCotillo said deal was progressing.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 3, 2024
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On paper, a deal like this makes plenty of sense for Boston. The team was short on high-leverage options in the wake of Kenley Jansen’s departure, and they entered the winter with exactly zero proven lefties for Alex Cora to call on. With Tanner Scott’s market set to get awfully steep, there weren’t a ton of other appealing targets.
But still: Aroldis Chapman? Really? The man Red Sox fans have spent nearly a decade hating, for reasons both on and off the field? We wish Breslow the best of luck selling people on this signing, especially considering that there’s evidence to suggest that Chapman isn’t even the same dominant force he once was: The lefty posted a 3.79 ERA with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2024, and while his velocity and strikeout ability remain elite, his command gets spottier with each passing year, and it leaves him having to work his way out of jams far too often.
It also just doesn’t feel like the best use of the team’s resources. Nearly $11 million is a steep price tag for a reliever, and Boston jumped the market for the privilege. Granted, settling the bullpen hierarchy was a must on Breslow’s offseason to-do list, and maybe Chapman turns back the clock, finds the strike zone and pitches like an All-Star. But that’s a fairly big if, and the moment he blows a late lead, Red Sox fans are going to suddenly remember all the reasons why they used to love to hate him when he was in New York.
