Boston Red Sox closer Aroldis Chapman is 38 years old, but is still pitching like an All-Star.
He was named an All-Star for the ninth time in his career this year, and with his next out recorded, he will secure another year in Boston. He has a conditional mutual option for next season that guarantees with 40 innings pitched and a passed physical.
After that, Chapman is scheduled to be a free agent, but that may not be the end for him. If he continues to pitch as he has in Boston, the Red Sox and plenty of other teams as well will want him in their bullpen. It will all come down to what Chapman wants to do. He has nothing left to prove.
He is the all-time leader in strikeouts by a reliever, a two-time World Series champion and a two-time Mariano Rivera American League Reliever of the Year Award winner. He was asked recently if he would pitch until he's 45, seeing that he is still touching triple digits at 38.
"I don’t know, but if I have to give you an answer, I’ll say yes,” Chapman said, per MassLive's Chris Cotillo. “Honestly, I don’t really know. Like I always say, (I’ll pitch) until a team doesn’t want me anymore. If I can be here, I’ll be here. If they don’t want me here, I’ll go home.”
As long as he's putting up numbers like he is right now, someone will want him. At some point, Chapman will start to decline. Father Time is undefeated, and one day it will get to Chapman if he wants to pitch until nobody wants him.