After one season with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Aroldis Chapman hits the open market, where he’ll surely draw plenty of interest. The 36-year-old left-hander was 5-5 with 14 saves, 22 holds, a 3.79 ERA, and a 1.346 WHIP in 2024. He still throws as hard as ever. As a result, he generates a lot of swing-and-miss but the trade-off is frequent wildness. Chapman struck out 14.3 batters per nine innings, but he also walked 5.7 per nine. Those stats translated to a 37 percent strikeout rate and a 14.7 percent walk rate.
Aroldis Chapman just threw two 104 MPH sinkers back-to-back
104.0 MPH
103.8 MPHHe’s 36 pic.twitter.com/LvPCEDOP2T
— Platinum Ke’Bryan (@PlatinumKey13) June 6, 2024
Aroldis Chapman Hits Open Market
Chapman was signed by the Cincinnati Reds as an amateur free agent in January 2010 and made his major league debut that same year at age 22. In addition to the Reds and Pirates, Chapman has pitched for the New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Kansas City Royals, and Texas Rangers. He earned World Series rings with the Cubs and Rangers. For his career, he’s pitched in 796 games, all in relief, and posted a record of 55-45 with 335 saves and a 2.63 ERA. Opposing batters have hit .168/.281/.260 against him. He’s a potential Hall-of-Famer when it’s all over.
Tattoo You
Chapman isn’t far removed from his worst year in the majors, with the Yankees in 2022. He was 4-4 with nine saves and a whopping 4.46 ERA. Eventually, he lost the closer role to Clay Holmes and seemingly lost his mind as well. In late August, Chapman was placed on the injured list due to “an infected wound from a recent tattoo.” He returned to action in September and was effective. However, he was left off the postseason roster when he declined to attend a workout before the start of the American League Division Series. At that point, playing under an expired contract, his Yankees career was over.
You Better Move On
Coming off a bad year and labelled a “bad teammate,” Chapman signed a one-year deal with Kansas City in January 2023 for $3.75 million, a steep drop from the $16 million he earned with the Yankees the year before. He pitched well for a Royals team headed nowhere and was traded to Texas in June. With both teams in 2023, he was 6-5 with a 3.09 ERA and six saves.
Having proved he could be an effective pitcher again while putting his past issues behind him, the Pirates gave Chapman a one-year, $10.5 million contract when he hit the open market. Signed with the idea that Chapman would serve as a seventh- or eighth-inning man behind closer David Bednar, his presence on the Pirates was fortuitous when Bednar struggled during the season and Chapman stepped into the closer role. By all accounts, Chapman was well-liked by his Pirates teammates while avoiding controversy and fly-by-night tattoo parlors.
Money (That’s What I Want)
Pirates general manager Ben Cherington, never forthcoming with information in his public statements, hasn’t indicated whether he’s willing to bring Chapman back to Pittsburgh, making only vague statements about the need to get better. Pittsburgh could surely use the bullpen help. In any event, after two consecutive years of solid pitching, the contract Chapman would command will be too steep for the Pirates.
You Gotta Move
Possible landing spots for Chapman? It would be easier to list the teams not looking for bullpen help. Given the magnitude of the contract Chapman is likely to attract, his suitors would be limited to baseball’s big spenders. The Philadelphia Phillies bullpen will be depleted by free-agent departures. Jim Bowden of The Athletic has predicted they’ll make a play for left-handed reliever Tanner Scott of the San Diego Padres. If that’s even true and the Phillies fail to land Scott, they may turn their attention to Chapman.
The Yankees are expected to let Holmes walk in free agency after a rough year that included 13 blown saves. However, they aren’t likely to be anxious for a reunion with Chapman. Besides the tattoo incident, while a Yankee, Chapman was suspended for an alleged violation of Major League Baseball’s domestic abuse policy in 2016. (No charges were ever filed.) The Atlanta Braves are expected to lose an effective left-handed reliever of their own in free agent A.J. Minter. Similarly, the Chicago Cubs will lose veteran Drew Smyly to free agency.
Moving to Los Angeles, the Dodgers aren’t necessarily looking for relief help, but they may be set to lose three starters, and may look to compensate by strengthening their relief corps. The Angels could use bullpen help, too. They’re big spenders but may be a bit gun-shy, having been burned on lucrative contracts for pitchers before.
Beggars Banquet
Chapman’s age may scare teams away from a deal longer than a year. So may his somewhat checkered past. Despite any such concerns, with the demand for solid bullpen pieces, Chapman will surely find himself employed somewhere in 2025. Teams with money to burn will be lining up. Let the beggars banquet begin.
Main Photo: © Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
