The Boston Red Sox‘s roller coaster of a season was met with an abrupt end in the Wild Card round for the second straight season, and now all eyes will turn to the front office to improve around the core that hasn’t been able to make a deep postseason run.
The first big roster news came on Saturday, with the Red Sox officially locking in closer Aroldis Chapman for another season.
According to reporter Francys Romero, the 38-year-old flamethrower passed his physical, finalizing a $13 million vesting option for the 2027 season, which includes escalators contingent on this year’s Reliever of the Year voting. Chapman was extended during his excellent 2025 season for a one-plus-one deal that kept him in Boston for a third season if he reached 40 innings pitched in 2026.
Chapman breezed by this figure during the 2026 campaign, giving the Red Sox 51.2 innings across 53 appearances with a 1.92 ERA and 1.12 WHIP. The 17-year vet has had a brilliant start to his tenure in Boston, earning All-Star appearances in both 2025 and 2026 and posting back-to-back seasons with a sub-2.00 ERA (1.17 in 2025).
Getting the lockdown closer back for another year will be an important part of the formula for the Red Sox if they want to return to the postseason. Boston’s 2.99 bullpen ERA led all of baseball and was anchored by the 1-2 punch of setup man Garrett Whitlock and Chapman.
Chapman will be 39 when he pitches again for the Red Sox, but the imposing left-hander has seemingly gotten better with age and figures to be one of the league’s most dominant closers once again.
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