The Boston Red Sox have to make a decision in the next few weeks to either buy or sell at the Trade Deadline. If the decision does end up being to sell, then few trade pieces for the Red Sox are as valuable as closing pitcher Aroldis Chapman.
Chapman is very aware of those rumors. However, he’s doing what he can to not focus on them and focus on winning with the Red Sox instead.
“My mentality is to stay here and win here,” Chapman said, being quoted by MassLive. “Our situation, the goal is to make it to the playoffs. That’s been our primary goal and to the rumors — that’s not something I can control.”
The rumors are hard to ignore. At 27-37, the Red Sox are 11.5 games out of first place in the AL East, but given the general competitiveness of the AL, they’re not completely out of the Wild Card race yet. With a hot stretch, the Red Sox could still turn into buyers at the deadline.
“We need it to turn around,” Chapman said. “Our situation, the goal is to make it to the playoffs. That’s been our primary goal and to the rumors — that’s not something I can control.”
If that doesn’t happen, Chapman has been one of the best closers in baseball since he got to the Red Sox in 2025. This year, that’s seen him pitch to a 0.46 ERA in 20 games with 13 saves. He also has 11.9 strikeouts per nine.
“I don’t know how long I’ll keep throwing,” Chapman said. “But yeah, I’ve been able to improve my control and the command to my pitches. That’s something I had trouble with throughout my whole career. So that’s helped me to be successful (at 38) and I don’t know how long I’ll keep going.”
Aroldis Chapman is the Biggest Trade Chip for the Boston Red Sox
GettyBoston Red Sox CP Aroldis Chapman
With the Trade Deadline a little under two months away, rumors are heating up. So, Ian Browne of MLB.com decided to share who he thinks the Boston Red Sox’s biggest trade piece is this year. No surprise, it’s Aroldis Chapman.
“It has been a struggle for the Red Sox to gain momentum this season, and if that continues over the next few weeks, the club could be tempted to deal Chapman, perhaps their most dominant performer,” Browne wrote. “Chapman has converted his last 28 save opportunities dating back to July 26, 2025, giving up zero runs and three hits in those appearances. At 38, the lefty has shown zero signs of slowing down. He could land Boston a nice return.”
Making the decision to trade Chapman would be a major sell. That’s not something the Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow is necessarily ready to do.
“I think early is probably the right word,” Craig Breslow said on Friday. “(We’re) having a lot of conversations, a lot of discussions, and I think it’s been kind of true industry-wide. But there are a lot of teams that probably feel pretty similar to us, which is to say that they have confidence in their rosters, they know they’re not playing as well as they’re capable of, and really, nobody is kind of putting the postseason out of reach. So there are a bunch of teams that are in it right now and are thinking along the same lines as we are.”
Aroldis Chapman Had a Recent Injury Update
GettyBoston Red Sox CP Aroldis Chapman
Unfortunately, for the Red Sox and Aroldis Chapman, he’s been banged up lately. That hasn’t forced an IL stint, but it did show up in a recent appearance against the New York Yankees, when his velocity was down and he was visibly limping.
Shortly after the game, interim Red Sox manager Chad Tracy did share what he knew. It’s a minor hamstring issue that’s been nagging Chapman.
“We’re keeping an eye on it, but he’s grinding,” Tracy said. “He did a nice job. He obviously didn’t have his command the first couple of hitters, but then, like he always does, bears down and got it done.”
If the Red Sox are going to make a playoff push this season, they’ll need Chapman healthy. If they’re going to get the best possible value for him in a trade, they’ll need Chapman healthy. So, this hamstring issue is worth monitoring.
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