Will the Boston Red Sox trade one of the best relief pitchers of all-time this summer?
Aroldis Chapman just set the record for the most strikeouts thrown by a reliever in big league history and Boston is going to have to weigh flipping him this summer for a big return, or trying to compete for a playoff spot down the stretch with him still in the mix. On Monday, ESPN's Jeff Passan and Kiley McDaniel made it clear that they believe a trade is coming and set the odds at 90 percent.
"No. 10. Aroldis Chapman, LHP, Boston Red Sox," Passan and McDaniel wrote. "Chance of being traded: 90 percent. Rest-of-season impact: High. Years of control: Probably just 2026, with a vesting/mutual option for 2027. The buzz: Relief pitchers often are some of the most impactful deadline acquisitions, and Boston's closer is as effective as ever.
"Chapman doesn't throw as hard as he once did, but he has four distinct pitches now. And he's still chucking his fastball in the high 90s, which is plenty of velocity when hitters need to gear up for his slider and splitter. Here's the greatest truism of the deadline: Everyone needs a good reliever. Teams will climb over each other for Chapman."
Arguably, keeping Chapman should be the move with Boston starting to turn its season around. But right now, the perception is that he could be on the way out.