Aroldis Chapman Tops Every Contender’s Wish List as Red Sox Closer Becomes Most Coveted Reliever
Aroldis Chapman is 38 years old and might be the most valuable trade chip in baseball this summer.
The Boston Red Sox closer has converted 28 consecutive saves dating back to last season and has put up a sub-2.00 ERA that has every contender’s front office putting his name at the top of their list. CBS Sports called him the top reliever available on every target list, and the math behind that is hard to argue with.
Chapman is on a one-year deal. He is throwing harder this season than he has in years. He is striking out hitters at the same rate as his peak Yankees years. He looks closer to 28 than to 38 on the mound.
Why Boston Should Move Him
The Red Sox are not contending. They are trying to figure out which young players are part of the future and which are not. A 38-year-old closer on an expiring deal is not part of the answer either way. The smart move is to convert him to prospects and reload the system that has been drained by years of mid-tier moves.
Chapman’s trade value is unusually high because of his recent run. Most relievers see their value spike for a few weeks and then dip. He has been dominant for so long that nobody is doubting the run is real. Every contender that needs a ninth-inning guy is going to call.
The Phillies have a bullpen crisis. The Mets have a bullpen crisis. The Cubs are short on high-leverage arms. The Padres need help in the back end. The Astros could use another closer-quality arm to manage Josh Hader’s workload. Boston will not have to do the calling.
The Yankees are the most fascinating possibility. Chapman left New York under bad terms. Returning to the Yankees in pinstripes for the second time in his career would be a story. The clubhouse fit might not be perfect, but the Yankees need bullpen help and Chapman wants to win a ring before he retires.
Boston’s return needs to be a real prospect package. Top relievers regularly bring back two or three legitimate prospects at the deadline. Chapman, given his contract status and current form, could be the kind of move that brings back a top-100 farm system arm and a power-bat lottery ticket.
The risk for any buyer is the obvious one. Relievers in their late 30s break down. The next two months might see him hit a wall. A buyer paying premium prospect capital for a guy who runs out of gas by September would be the story of the deadline.
The Red Sox have to weigh that against the cost of doing nothing. Holding Chapman through July and getting a draft pick back in November is not the same haul as moving him now. Boston needs the depth more than the conviction.
The other piece is what this means for the rest of the Red Sox roster. If they move Chapman, they are essentially announcing they are sellers. That could open the door for Devers conversations, for Bregman discussions, and for younger players to get longer looks. The chain reaction matters as much as the individual trade.
Chapman is going to get traded. The question is to whom and for how much. Every front office in the league is going to have the conversation. Boston just has to decide which one wins it.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
