There are a lot of good reasons why it might have made sense for Aroldis Chapman to enter free agency this winter. The eight-time All-Star is enjoying one of the best seasons of his career and in all likelihood would have been highly sought after by clubs across the sport.
Yet when given the opportunity he happily engaged the Red Sox in extension talks, ultimately agreeing to a one-year, $13.3 million extension that could potentially keep him in Boston through 2027 as well.
Why? That’s simple, he said.
“I wanted to stay here,” Chapman said via interpreter Carlos Villoria Benítez.
Speaking to reporters after his new extension became official, Chapman spoke reverently about his time in Boston. He praised his teammates, the club’s coaching staff, trainers and everyone else for making the decision to stick around a no brainer.
“First and foremost, I feel like my teammates, the chemistry that we have here is unique,” Chapman said. “They made the decision easy for me to stay here.”
Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said Chapman’s previous comments about playing in Boston encouraged him to broach the topic of an extension, and things came together fairly quickly after that.
“When players are pretty vocal about enjoying their time here and it makes sense, it’s certainly worth pursuing,” Breslow said. “So it made sense to engage and I appreciate the willingness to do that and Aroldis’ willingness to put his trust in the direction of this organization.”
Beyond providing Chapman with a raise over this year’s one-year, $10.75 million deal, the early extension will also provide the veteran with a measure of certainty after a tumultuous couple of seasons. Since leaving the New York Yankees after the 2022 season Chapman has played for four teams over the past three years, including both the Kansas City Royals and Texas Rangers in 2023 and the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2024.
The deal also ensures the Red Sox won’t have to worry about who their closer will be in 2026, something Breslow said is very comforting.
Breslow also said the club has no concerns about Chapman potentially declining next year, when he’ll be 38 years old.
“While no one has been able to fully outrun aging, when you think about someone who could potentially weather that you look at someone who keeps themself in such good physical shape as Chappy does,” Breslow said. “When you think about making a bet on someone to be successful later in their career, you look at the way they keep themselves in shape and prepare and feel pretty good about this one.”
Looking ahead, though Chapman said he doesn’t have any specific goals or milestones that he’s chasing, he said that he hopes to keep pitching for as long as he can stay healthy and effective.
“What keeps me motivated is this is the sport that I love, this is what I grew up loving and playing and I want to keep throwing until I know it’s time,” Chapman said. “I don’t want to retire and in two or three years have that regret that I could have done it more time or that I could potentially come back. I want to keep throwing, keep pitching until I can’t any more and that’s because this is what I love to do.”