Red Sox Gambled on Aroldis Chapman and Now He’s Making History

The Boston Red Sox fans get let out a sigh of relief on Monday. Boston got back in the win column against with a 3-1 win over the Kansas City Royals.

With the club struggling overall this season, each win comes with a little extra fanfare. Boston is under a microscope and is now 20-27 on the season. Overall, Boston is 10-10 since Chad Tracy took over as the Red Sox's interim manager now.

After dropping two of three against the Atlanta Braves and getting some not-so-good news about Roman Anthony on Monday afternoon, the Red Sox needed some good news on Monday night against the Royals and got exactly what they needed.

The Red Sox Flamethrower Had A Historic Night

May 18, 2026; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Aroldis Chapman (44) delivers a pitch against the Kansas City Royals during the ninth inning at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

Willson Contreras crushed his team-leading 10th homer of the season and Sonny Gray was excellent for the club. Also, Aroldis Chapman earned his 11th save of the season and lowered his season ERA to 0.54. He also moved past six-time All-Star Joe Nathan for sole possession of 10th place on the all-time saves list with 378.

Right now, he's 12 away from tying Boston great and Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley for ninth place on the all-time saves list at 390. He's also 22 saves away from being the ninth player all-time to record 400 or more saves for a career. Right now, there are two active members of the list with 400 or more saves and both played for the Red Sox in recent memory: Kenley Jansen and Craig Kimbrel. Jansen was the team's closer before Chapman. Kimbrel won a championship back with the Red Sox back in 2018 and had a three-year run in Boston.

Since Craig Breslow took over as the Red Sox's chief baseball officer, there are few deals that have aged better than Boston signing Chapman before the 2025 season and then giving him a new deal before the campaign came to a close. Chapman was an All-Star in 2025 and won the Mariano Rivera AL Reliever of the Year Award.

Right now, he's pitching at an even higher level. He has a 0.54 ERA in 17 outings and 11 saves. Last year, he had a 1.17 ERA in 67 outings and 32 saves. While the offense isn't clicking or anything like that, at least Boston pretty much only has to plan for eight innings each night when Chapman is able to pitch.

Who saw this insane run coming? Before coming to Boston, he had a 3.79 ERA with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2024. In 2023, he had a 3.09 ERA in 61 outings. In 2022, he had a 4.46 ERA in 43 outings. This is a potential Hall of Famer we're talking about who is pitching at his very best at 38 years old.

What a run for the Boston lefty.

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