Red Sox Skipper Signals Major Aroldis Chapman Trend Likely to Continue

It sounds as if the spring is off to a great start...

Sep 7, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Boston Red Sox pitcher Aroldis Chapman in the ninth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Of all the players returning to the Boston Red Sox for the 2026 season, closer Aroldis Chapman will have by far the toughest time measuring up to his 2025 output.

Simply put, Chapman was the best reliever in baseball last season. He managed a ridiculous 1.17 ERA in 67 appearances, allowing eight earned runs on the season and only three after the start of June.

Is it realistic to expect the same dominance from Chapman at age 38 this year? Perhaps not, but the closer he can come, the better a place in which the Red Sox will likely find themselves in the standings when it's all said and done.

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Alex Cora reports early success for Chapman

Aug 27, 2025; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Boston Red Sox pitcher Aroldis Chapman (44) delivers a pitch during the ninth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: James A. Pittman-Imagn Images | James A. Pittman-Imagn Images

One of the biggest improvements Chapman made last season was his strike-throwing, which cut his walk rate to a career-best 6.6%. On Sunday, Red Sox manager Alex Cora delivered a glowing review of the lefty flamethrower's spring training bullpens thus far, suggesting that the trend was likely to continue.

“You can see right now it wasn’t a fluke,” Cora said Sunday, per Mac Cerullo of the Boston Herald. “Two bullpens he’s 20 out of 23 in the strike zone, 25 out of 30 in the strike zone.”

Cora also addressed the one-year, $13.3 million extension Chapman signed to stay with the Red Sox, which turned out to be great value if we're judging by the contracts given out this winter to the likes of relievers like Edwin Díaz, Tyler Rogers, and Robert Suarez.

“I’m glad we were able to get it done, and kudos to him, because he could have been like no I’ll go out there and see what happens, but he likes it here. He really does,” Cora said, per Cerullo. “We treat him with respect, but we ask him for a lot of things, and he’s been great.”

Chapman's priorities moving forward: Stay healthy and throw strikes. Do that, and it should be another great season, even if it's hard to measure up to the last one.

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