Red Sox sign Aroldis Chapman

The Red Stockings agree Aroldis Chapman on a one-year contract. The deal, pending a physical, reportedly guarantees the Wasserman client $10.75 million. Boston’s 40-man roster is full, so they will have to make a corresponding move once the signing is made official.

Boston will be the left-hander’s fifth different team since 2022. Chapman is no longer the elite closer he was during his peak with the Reds and Yankees. He’s still an effective, if somewhat volatile, reliever despite scattershot command. He posted a 3.79 ERA over 61 2/3 innings for the Pirates this year. Signed as setup option on front David BednarChapman recorded 22 holds before taking over as the closer for the struggling Bednar late in the season. He picked up 14 saves, his highest total in three years, and gave up just five walks.

Even entering his age-37 season, Chapman is one of the league’s hardest-throwing relievers. He averaged 97.8 MPH on his four-seam fastball and 99.8 MPH on his sinker. While Chapman is no longer in a league of his own in terms of speed, that’s rare arm speed from the left side. Only among southpaws with at least five innings Jose A. Ferrer and Gregory Soto threw their four-seamer harder on average. Chapman’s slugging rate led all southpaws and was fourth in MLB overall, trailing Emmanuel Clase, Justin Martinez and Seth Halvorsen.

The high-octane stuff continues to lead to plenty of strikes. Chapman fanned 37% of those batters against Pittsburgh. Among relievers with more than 20 innings, Chapman was eighth in strikeout rate. His 14.7% walk percentage was the ninth highest mark among this group. Fewer than half of his plate appearances ended with a ball in play. There will be a lot of free passes, but Chapman’s stuff is good enough that he still manages to get out of trouble more often than not.

This is the second bullpen pickup of the offseason for chief baseball officer Craig Breslow and the Boston front office. They also brought in Justin Wilson last month to work in intermediate shifts. There could be room for one more addition with four Sox relievers hitting freely. They are expected to charge Kenley Jansen walk and could also lose Chris Martin, Luis Garcia and Lucas Sims. Liam Hendriks should be back from Tommy John surgery and is the favorite to replace Jansen as Alex Cora’s closer. Rule 5 selection Justin Slate should be their top setup option from the right side. Cam Boozer and Brennan Bernardinowho had been their top in-house lefty, profiled as middle relievers rather than high-leverage arms.

Chapman did not place in MLBTR’s Top 50 Free Agents. That said, he was one of the best available lefties for teams that didn’t want to play at the top of the market for Tanner Scott. He is earning a very small raise from last winter, when he signed with Pittsburgh for $10.5 million.

The move brings the Red Sox’s estimated payroll, including arbitration projections, to about $148 million. (with permission from RosterResource). Boston is up to about $181MM in luxury tax liabilities. They are $60 million. back for the basic tax limit. CEO Sam Kennedy indicated that the Sox could exceed the threshold, one of countless comments from team brass that signaled a big offseason. There will be much more to come from Breslow and company, which is one of five teams known to be involved Juan Soto and has been tied to every top-end free agent starting pitcher.

MassLive’s Chris Cotillo first reported that the Red Sox and Chapman had made progress on a deal. Mike Rodriguez confirmed that an agreement was in place. ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported contract terms. Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.