Yankees Battle Arch-Rival Once Again, This Time Over $4.5 Million Lefty Reliever

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Dave Roberts of the Red Sox (l), Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees (r).

From 1995 through 2010, the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees reached a new peak in their decades-old rivalry — one that is arguably the greatest rivalry in the major North American sports. And if it is not the greatest, it is definitely one of the all-time great rivalries anywhere. During that decade-and-a-half period, the Yankees finished either in first place or second in the American League East 15 times and the Red Sox 12.

The rivalry hit its earlier apex in 1978. In that year, the Red Sox led the AL East by 10 games as late as July 8, only to fade as the Yankees roared back. By September 20 the Yankees had taken a two-game lead. And then Boston reeled off eight straight wins to tie the division after 162 games.

With the Wild Card era still 17 years in the future, the Red Sox and Yankees met in Game 163, a one-game playoff for a berth in the AL Championship Series. Five Hall of Famers played in that game, which turned on a seventh inning, three-run home run by light hitting Yankees shortstop Bucky Dent off Red Sox starter Mike Torrez. It was just Dent’s fifth homer of the season and it gave the Yankees a 5-4 victory.

Starting in 1995, the new expanded playoff format with one Wild Card team and three division winners in each league added a new, even more intense dimension to the rivalry. Now the Red Sox and Yankees could battle it out in the postseason for the same high stakes as the 1978 tiebreaker game. They have done exactly that five times since, meeting in the ALCS in 1999, 2003 and 2004, the Division Series in 2018 and the one-game AL Wild Card playoff in 2021.

Red Sox and Yankees Both Need a Lefty Reliever

This offseason, according to the Yankees blog Bleeding Yankee Blue, the Red Sox and Yankees are fighting it out again, this time over a left-handed relief pitcher needed by both teams. That pitcher is 34-year-old Andrew Chafin, who divied 2024 between the Detroit Tigers — who signed him to a $4.75 million one-year contract and then traded him — and the Texas Rangers.

“Now, let’s not pretend this is a no-competition situation. Tanner Scott would’ve been a dream signing, but the Dodgers swooped in with bags of cash that the Yankees weren’t willing to match. Fine. Plan B? Andrew Chafin,” wrote Bleeding Yankee Blue chief writer Robert Casey. “The Red Sox are reportedly sniffing around too, because of course they are. NESN’s Gio Rivera even hyped Chafin up as a potential ‘impact reliever’ for Boston in the post-Scott sweepstakes.”

The Red Sox have two lefties in their bullpen heading into the 2025 season so far, signing veteran flamethrower Aroldis Chapman in December, and another veteran, 37-year-old Justin Wilson formerly of the Cincinnati Reds, in November.

The Yankees have yet to add a lefty to their bullpen.

Chafin Struggled With Walks in 2024

Chafin posted a solid 3.51 ERA out of the bullpen for the Tigers and Rangers in 2024, though a walk percentage of 12.6 percent placed him 155th of 169 MLB relievers tracked by Fangraphs.

On the other hand, his strikeout percentage of 28.5 percent put him a respectable if not spectacular 42nd.

According to Spotrac, Chafin is expected to sign for a $4.5 million, one-year deal.

Jonathan Vankin JONATHAN VANKIN is an award-winning journalist and writer who now covers baseball and other sports for Heavy.com. He twice won New England Press Association awards for sports feature writing. Vankin is also the author of five nonfiction books on a variety of topics, as well as nine graphic novels including most recently “Last of the Gladiators” published by Dynamite Entertainment. More about Jonathan Vankin