The Red Sox have agreed to an extension with left-hander Aroldis Chapman that will keep the star reliever in town for the 2026 season, according to a report from Francys Romero of BeisbolFR. Romero adds that the deal includes an option for the 2027 season, which Chris Cotillo of MassLive adds is a vesting/mutual option. Cotillo goes on to report that Chapman is guaranteed $13.3MM by the deal, and that if the Wasserman client throws enough innings to vest his 2027 option he’ll earn $26MM over two seasons.
It’s not often that a player gets a raise headed into his age-38 season, but the fact that Chapman’s salary will jump by roughly $3.5MM headed into 2026 is a testament to the sensational season the veteran closer has had during his first year in Boston. Signed to a one-year, $10.75MM guarantee last November, the eight-time All-Star and two-time World Series champion has turned back the clock to produce what is arguably the best season of his entire career and undoubtedly his most impressive performance in nearly a decade.
In 57 games for the Red Sox this year, Chapman has pitched to an otherworldly 1.04 ERA while striking out 38.7% of his opponents. That’s the lowest ERA in the majors among qualified relievers, and only Mason Miller has struck out batters at a higher clip this year. Chapman’s 2.02 SIERA, 1.83 FIP, and 2.2 fWAR are all also MLB-best totals. If the newly-unveiled Relief Pitcher of the Year award was in play for the 2025 season, Chapman would be a slam dunk to win it in the American League. As it stands, he’ll have to settle for closing out big games for what is extremely likely to be a playoff-bound Boston club down the stretch and into the postseason.
Early in Chapman’s career, it was hardly uncommon for his name to be in the conversation for the best relief arm in baseball at any given moment. The lefty made his big league debut back in 2010 as a member of the Reds and, over his first seven seasons in the majors, pitched to a dazzling 2.08 ERA with an even better 1.88 FIP and struck out 42.6% of his opponents faced. That includes a run of four consecutive All-Star appearances with Cincinnati from 2012-15 and a dominant 2016 season where he pitched to a 1.55 ERA with the Yankees and Cubs before throwing 15 2/3 innings for Chicago in the postseason en route to the first World Series championship of his career.
Upon returning to the Yankees in 2016, however, the then-29-year-old Chapman didn’t look quite as dominant. As he’s moved into his thirties, his numbers have remained strong overall but not quite reached the level he enjoyed in the first few seasons of his career. Across eight seasons from 2017 to 2024, Chapman pitched to a 3.17 ERA with a 2.94 FIP, struck out 37.7% of his opponents, and saw his walk rate creep up from 11.6% to 13.6%. After spending parts of seven years with the Yankees, Chapman bounced between the Rangers, Royals, and Pirates before returning to the AL East as a member of the Red Sox this year. Now that Chapman’s posting results in line with those he put up during his peak, his stretch of bouncing between teams every year and facing uncertainty every offseason has come to an end.
More to come.