The Boston Red Sox could be looking at a big name with a big arm to bolster their bullpen.
Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said earlier this week that there was an uncharacteristic amount of activity at the GM meetings, and apparently the Red Sox were among the busiest teams.
The Red Sox appear to have interest in acquiring flame-throwing left-handed reliever Aroldis Chapman from the Cincinnati Reds. FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal was the first to report the Red Sox’s interest in Chapman, and The Boston Globe reported Thursday night the Sox have “great interest” in the reliever, per a major league source.
While it’s far from a certainty at this stage that Chapman ends up in Boston, he could be on the move to somewhere new soon. Legendary baseball writer Peter Gammons reported Thursday there’s a growing feeling around baseball that Chapman is moved before the end of the weekend.
Acquiring Chapman, however, is tricky for any team looking to secure his services. For starters, he’s one of the best relievers in baseball. He’s coming off a 33-save sason in which he struck out a ridculous 116 batters in just 66 1/3 innings, and opponents have just a .154 batting average off the lefty for his career. So it’s obviously going to take a pretty penny to acquire a player like that.
Also complicating matters is Chapman’s contract. The 27-year-old is only signed through the 2016 season, so teams aren’t going to want to give up too much for a pitcher they’d only have for one season.
Thumbnail photo via David Kohl/USA TODAY Sports Images
