The Pittsburgh Pirates have made a big addition to their bullpen, and have signed reliever Aroldis Chapman to a one-year, $10.5 million contract.
Heading into the offseason, the expectation was that the Pirates would look to add another high-impact reliever to their bullpen. Now, they have done just that by signing Chapman, and he will be a key part of their roster for the upcoming season.
Chapman’s Bounce-Back 2023 Season
While paying $10.5 million to a reliever is certainly high, Chapman has earned this deal because of his strong 2023 season. In 61 regular-season appearances split between the Kansas City Royals and Texas Rangers, the 35-year-old posted a 6-5 record, a 3.09 ERA, 103 strikeouts, and six saves.
It was a nice bounce-back year for Chapman, as he struggled mightily in 2022. He had a career-worst 4.46 ERA in 43 games with the New York Yankees. He was also left off their postseason roster.
However, in 2023, Chapman showed that he can still be an effective MLB reliever. Now, he will look to continue to be just that for the Pirates.
Chapman Gives Pirates Dominant Setup Man
While Chapman has been a closer for much of his career, he will not be the Pirates. Back-to-back All-Star David Bednar will continue to have the role. However, what Chapman will provide the Pirates with is a hard-throwing setup man to put in during the late innings before Bednar.
Having a Chapman/Bednar duo will make the Pirates far more difficult to face in the later parts of games. The hope is that their late-inning leads will stay intact because of it. When noting that Chapman is a seven-time All-Star coming off a strong season, there is plenty of potential they will.
In 728 career MLB games, Chapman has a 50-40 record, a 2.53 ERA, 1,148 strikeouts, and 321 saves.
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