New beginning

Aroldis Chapman will be back in the Bronx—but this time wearing the uniform of the Red Sox.

Let's start with the news of the moment among Cuban players: The Boston Red Sox made their first major move of the offseason on Tuesday, adding free agent reliever Aroldis Chapman to the back of their bullpen.

The Red Sox reached an agreement with Chapman on a one-year contract for $10.75 million, pending a physical, Chris Cotillo reported. Chapman, after two years away from the rivalries of the American League East Division, will return for a fresh start. And, you know, the former Yankee will return to the Bronx to pitch in the great baseball classic, but this time wearing the Red Sox uniform. I can't wait to see that moment.

Now, the big question here is inevitable: Was hiring Chapman a right move for the Red Sox? I think it's on the basis of that question that everything begins. I'll answer this and more in a couple of minutes, and you'll likely be surprised by the analytical background of this Red Sox move. I mean, sometimes the peripheral numbers don’t tell the story of success at first glance.

The Red Sox added veteran left-handed reliever Justin Wilson earlier in the offseason, but before the Chapman deal, closer Kenley Jansen and setup man Chris Martin became free agents. The team’s only options at closer were Liam Hendriks—he spent last season recovering from Tommy John surgery—and Justin Slaten, a 26-year-old rookie who showed some late-inning consistency.

At the end of last season, manager Alex Cora and chief baseball officer Craig Breslow noted that “adding speed and ability to add miss-swings to the bullpen” would be a priority. It’s no secret that Chapman, 37 years old and 15 seasons into the majors, is past his prime. However, when it comes to striking out batters and throwing high-velocity pitches, Chapman still remains one of the most respected pitchers in the game.

I don't know if you remember this pitch:

Chapman's catcher Yasmani Grandal, a fellow countryman, couldn't handle the 105.1 mph fastball that night on Aug. 7 at PNC Park. That was the fastest pitch of the season until right-hander Ben Joyce brought fire to the Dodgers on Sept. 3:

105.5 mph! Tommy Edman swung 71.7 mph and struck out.

When it comes to power and stalking speed, Chapman remains an elite pitcher. His approach, effectiveness and durability are all the Red Sox will need. Chapman finished the 2024 season with 55 strikeouts using his 98 mph or faster fastball, leading baseball’s 2024 left-handed pitching rankings. Yes, he even surpassed AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal, who finished tied with Garrett Crochet with 49 strikeouts.

A couple of seasons ago, when Chapman was excluded from the Yankees’ postseason roster, many thought “The Cuban Missile” had pitched his last innings in MLB. I remember writing a column in Spanish titled:

And I think that was the point itself: The Yankees had, in some ways, lost confidence in Aroldis Chapman. But obviously, there were still some organizations willing to give Chapman a job.

The Kansas City Royals, dreaming of a consolidation that came to fruition a year later when they returned to the playoffs, were the first interested in hiring Chapman. Chappy did a great job in the Royals’ bullpen during the first half of the season. He pitched to a 2.45 ERA, allowed no home runs and posted a 16.3 K/9 strikeout rate, his best since 2018. Between May 13 and June 29, during his final 16 relief appearances with the Royals, Chapman tossed a 1.15 ERA, allowed one extra-base hit and struck out half of his 64 opponents.

His velocity and confidence in his fastball returned. Chapman was getting back to being the unhittable left-handed reliever who was nearly impossible to knock down in an inning. Chapman did the same job he did when he was removed as the Yankees' closer during the second half of the 2022 season. He was doing situational relief, set-up performances to keep the bullpen balanced.

In early July 2023, Chapman agreed to a deal with the Texas Rangers. He was instrumental in the long journey to the postseason and ended up being part of a surprising bullpen that propelled the team to World Series success against the Arizona D-Backs. Chapman pitched the 2024 season in the Pittsburgh Pirates' bullpen. The Pirates' bullpen was inconsistent throughout the year, finishing with the 27th-worst ERA (4.49) in the Majors.

Instead, Chapman was one of the team's primary relief pitchers. His 3.79 ERA was similar to the 3.72 ERA he posted with the Rangers in 2023, but the work was much deeper. Still, his 2024 ERA is far from telling the story about Chapman's effectiveness as a situational reliever in Pittsburgh's bullpen.

The Red Sox saw all that and more.