Aroldis Chapman’s 2027 salary is now fully locked in after he passed his end-of-season physical, according to reporter Francys Romero. That last check was the final hurdle for Chapman’s mutual option to vest, meaning the Red Sox closer is guaranteed at least $13 million for his age-39 season.
The final number should land between $13 million and $14 million, depending on where Chapman finishes in MLB or BBWAA Reliever of the Year voting. He is eligible for a bonus of $100,000, $250,000, $500,000 or $1 million based on that placement.
Boston first brought Chapman in on a one-year, $10.75 million free-agent contract during the 2024-25 offseason. He pitched well enough that the Red Sox rewarded him with an extension in August 2025. That deal gave him $13 million in 2026 - including a $1 million signing bonus - and added the $13 million mutual option for 2027 with a $300,000 buyout.
The option was set to become guaranteed if Chapman threw at least 40 innings in 2026 and finished the year healthy. Given his track record - he has topped 50 innings in 14 of his 17 major league seasons - there was never much suspense about the workload side of the equation. Chapman cleared the 40-inning mark by mid-August.
The physical mattered because of a late-season issue with lat tightness. Chapman appeared in only one of Boston’s final 12 regular-season games, with the team choosing rest over putting him on the 15-day injured list.
The move paid off. In his lone postseason outing, Chapman struck out all three Yankees he faced in one inning during Boston’s 9-2 loss in Game 2 of the Wild Card Series.
For two seasons in Boston, Chapman has looked more like a late-career weapon than a reliever in decline. In 113 innings with the Red Sox, he has posted a 1.51 ERA with a 35.4% strikeout rate and converted 67 of 71 save chances. His walk rate climbed from 6.6% in 2025 to 10.8% in 2026, and his fastball averaged 97.4 mph - still good for the 90th percentile in velocity across MLB pitchers.
Those numbers helped give Boston what was arguably the league’s best bullpen in 2026, even though the group unraveled in the two-game sweep in New York during the ALWCS. Chapman turning 39 always carries some risk, but the Red Sox can still reasonably expect him to remain their primary option in the ninth inning.
He enters 2027 with 402 career saves, sitting ninth on the all-time list, and that climb up the leaderboard will be one more storyline to watch next season.
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One proposed path would have Boston pursuing Seattles Randy Arozarena in free agency while moving Jarren Duran to San Diego for reliever Jeremiah Estrada, with Tyrone Taylor mentioned as another option to bolster defense and give the lineup more flexibility. It is the kind of aggressive reset that would signal real urgency from the Red Sox, but it also comes with the kind of roster tradeoffs that make the rest of the winter worth watching closely. [Read more 🡒]