Using Aroldis Chapman as closer was one of the best moves the Red Sox made
Here’s what Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said 17 months ago when the Red Sox signed free agent Aroldis Chapman to a one-year contract:
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“We’re figuring out exactly what role he pitches in, but we feel he will be a huge piece of preserving leads late in games.”
That was a polite way of saying Chapman wasn’t going to be the closer, but we think he can help us.
Forty saves and 101 strikeouts later, the 38-year-old Chapman is in the middle of a career renaissance that could land him in the Hall of Fame.
Chapman has 375 career saves. Two more would tie Joe Nathan for 10th all-time. He also should be able to pass Dennis Eckersley (390) this season.
The lefthander also needs only 17 more strikeouts to set the career record for the most punchouts by a relief pitcher. The late Hoyt Wilhelm, a Hall of Fame knuckleballer, holds the mark with 1,363.
Wilhelm had 1,872⅓ innings in relief. Chapman has 834. The game sure has changed.
Chapman didn’t get a chance to pick up another save and a few more strikeouts when Saturday’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays was rained out and rescheduled as part of a day-night doubleheader on July 17.
He is having one of the best runs of his career. Chapman has converted his last 23 save chances dating to July 26, 2025. Opposing hitters are 14 of 114 (.123) in that stretch with 41 strikeouts.
He’s had a 1.09 ERA and 0.72 WHIP since joining the Red Sox, with 12.3 strikeouts per nine innings.
It brings to mind the impact Koji Uehara made on the Red Sox in 2013. The righthander from Japan was signed to a one-year contract by general manager Ben Cherington with the intent of using him as a setup man.
Joel Hanrahan opened that season as the closer and was lost to Tommy John surgery in May. Andrew Bailey took the job and had eight saves before his season was ended by shoulder surgery.
It fell to Uehara to handle the ninth inning. He picked up his first save on May 17 and had a 0.77 ERA over the rest of the season. An incredible postseason run followed as the Sox won the World Series.
Uehara spent four seasons with the Sox, an experience that changed his career. He now works for a television network in Japan and made it a point to shake hands with Chapman when he visited the Red Sox during spring training.
The Sox thought Liam Hendriks would be their closer in 2025, but he wasn’t healthy. The job fell to Chapman, although it didn’t take as long as it did for Uehara.
They’re very different pitchers who succeed in similar ways.
Chapman’s two-seam fastball averages 98 miles per hour, and his four-seamer 96.9. He throws a slider and a splitter as his offspeed offerings.
Uehara used a modest 86-87-m.p.h. fastball, which he combined with a disappearing splitter to fool hitters. The differential is what mattered.
Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy is getting to know Chapman and has learned quickly that he’s more than triple-digit heat. He can pitch.
“The ability to flip that slider in there, that downer slider, and land it where he wants and keep somebody off balance,” Tracy said. “He can throw a split for a strikeout. That stuff is pretty impressive.”
Tracy also has witnessed Chapman’s rigid adherence to a pregame workout routine that combines weightlifting with agility drills on the field.
“The work ethic is off the charts,” Tracy said. “Everything that he does, I’m impressed with.”
Chapman agreed to a $13.3 million extension last August. Pitching 40 innings would trigger a $13 million vesting option for 2027. He’s had only 12⅔ innings so far this season for the 17-22 Sox.
If the Sox are out of contention at the trade deadline — which is Aug. 3 this season — Chapman will be in demand. He has 46 games of postseason experience and earned World Series rings with the 2016 Cubs and 2023 Rangers.
Signing Chapman was one of Breslow’s best moves. Moving him for prospects and saving money would be in character for how the Red Sox operate.
For now, he’s one of the best closers in the game again.
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