Pirates Sign former All-Star Closer Aroldis Chapman

After a slow-moving offseason for the Pirates, Ben Cherington made a significant splash into the free agent pool. The Pittsburgh Pirates agree with veteran left-handed pitcher Aroldis Chapman on a one-year deal worth $10.5 million.

The bullpen is already excellent with five pitchers having below four earned run averages. Chapman makes it a sixth pitcher with an earned run average below four. Yes, you read that correctly. The Pirates will have six relievers with earned run averages under four. That is elite for a team and will help the Pirates win many games this season.

Chapman will be 36 years old in a month, but age has not prevented him from throwing his amazing fastball. Many years ago, Chapman threw a pitch 106 miles per hour. He still throws his triple-digit fastball with a very good slider and splitter. These pitches got him a strikeout in 41.4% of the batters he faced. 

In 2023, Chapman pitched for the Kansas City Royals and the Texas Rangers. At the trade deadline, he was sent to Texas and got a ring later that season. Appearing in 61 games, Chapman posted a 3.09 earned run average with 103 strikeouts in 58.1 innings pitched. He also had a 2.52 FIP and a 1.8 WAR. The stats do not lie and they say that Aroldis Chapman can still be a dominant pitcher.

Chapman is going to make this bullpen go from great, to elite. The one-two punch of Chapman and David Bednar is going to be very deadly for teams trying to come back in games. This signing seems odd for the Pirates, but with an eight-figure contract, we see that Ben Cherington and the front office are trying to build a winning team. I believe that we are not done and there will be another move made to make this roster better.

Welcome to Pittsburgh, Aroldis!