NEWSLETTER
One of the first major late-inning reliever signings of the winter is in the books, as the Boston Red Sox are signing Aroldis Chapman to a one-year deal.
From Jeff Passan:
Chapman, 36, had a huge bounce-back campaign in 2023 between the Royals and Rangers, all when it looked like he might be on the way out (remember those waning days with the Yankees?). He wasn’t quite as good in 2024 with the Pirates, but he still put up a 3.79 ERA over 61.2 innings, with a 37.0% K and 14.7% BB. His fastball averaged about 98 mph, which is actually where it’s been going back several years now. He still busts out the triple digits on the regular, though.
As far as the market implications here, it does feel like the Red Sox paid a premium to get Chapman on a one-year deal, though it was only a click higher than the FanGraphs projection of one year and $10 million.
The Cubs did not figure to be in on Chapman, specifically, so you wouldn’t necessarily see any impact on that side of the ledger. Instead, the upshot here is simply that the late-inning reliever market gets a touch more projectable, and maybe gets moving this week into next week’s Winter Meetings.
The Cubs have added Eli Morgan in trade and Rob Zastryzny on a waiver claim, together with a couple minor league signings, but it’s still fair to expect an impact signing or two are coming in the bullpen group.
