Jul 22, 2019; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; A detail view of Boston Red Sox hat and glove laying in the dugout at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-Imagn Images Kim Klement-Imagn Images

Red Sox Under Microscope Ahead Of Imminent Return

Originally posted on Boston Red Sox on SI
By Patrick McAvoy | Last updated Aug 26, 2025 2:09 PM ET

The Boston Red Sox have one of the best bullpens in baseball but the club is going to have to make a choice in the very near future.

Boston enters play on Tuesday night with the third-best bullpen ERA in the league right now at 3.41. The only two teams ahead of Boston as of writing are the San Diego Padres (3.03) and the San Francisco Giants (3.29). For Boston, it's easy to see who has been the most impactful reliever of the. season. That is, of course, Aroldis Chapman. He's arguably having the best season of any closer in baseball right now.

Chapman is 37 years old and yet he has a 1.06 ERA across 56 appearances to go along with a 71-to-14 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 51 innings pitched and 25 saves. Chapman is one of the best closers in recent memory and is an eight-time All-Star. This is his 16th big league season and yet there's a real argument that this is his best season yet.

Red Sox bullpen is about to get an addition

Beyond Chapman, the Red Sox have gotten stellar seasons from Garrett Whitlock, Greg Weissert, Brennan Bernardino, and Justin Wilson among others. Steven Matz has also been great since coming over from the St. Louis Cardinals ahead of the trade deadline. Beyond these guys, Richard Fitts, Jordan Hicks, and Walker Buehler are also in Boston's bullpen.

It seems like over the next few days, Boston will have to make a decision. Justin Slaten is working his way back down with the Triple-A Worcester Red Sox and it sounds like his return is imminent, per MassLive.com's Christopher Smith.

"Justin Slaten 'felt good' coming out of his rehab outing Sunday," Smith said. "(Alex Cora) said velo was down but nothing to be worried about. He probably won’t need another rehab outing, Cora said. But the Red Sox want to see how he feels the rest of today and tomorrow before making a decision."

If/when Slaten is ready to return, what does Boston do? Do you move someone like Fitts in the rotation full-time? Or send him down? What about Hicks and Buehler? No matter what, some sort of decision is imminent for Boston.

This article first appeared on Boston Red Sox on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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