Aroldis Chapman suddenly became the center of a trade rumor that never seemed to have much footing, and now a Red Sox insider has poured cold water on it.
On July 22, longtime Chicago sports radio journalist George Ofman reported that the White Sox “were extremely close” to landing the Boston closer from the struggling Red Sox. Ofman said Boston’s huge winning streak changed the situation and shut the deal down.
But that version of events didn’t last long. Red Sox reporter Chris Cotillo of MassLive said a source inside the organization dismissed the White Sox-Chapman chatter at “warp speed,” directly undercutting the idea that Boston had nearly moved him.
The rumor came at a strange time. Boston spent the first few months of the season near the bottom of the American League, but the trade deadline was still far off, and the Red Sox were not out of the Wild Card race.
Even before their surge, they were only five games back of the third Wild Card spot on June 25, when their run took off with a four-game sweep of the Yankees. They were 33-46 then, and the idea of selling off a major arm like Chapman looked premature even before the turnaround.
Once the wins piled up, the calculus changed completely. Boston’s fire sale was off, and Chapman became the kind of player the club would be far more likely to keep than deal.
For Chicago, the fit made sense on paper. The White Sox bullpen has a 3.92 ERA this season, good for 11th in the league, but the Guardians and Tigers both have better relief groups in the division. A trade for Chapman would have given the White Sox a true closer, something they currently do not have.
That chance appears to be gone now. With Boston continuing to win and pushing itself into the AL East picture, Chapman doesn’t look like a trade piece anymore.
In Other News...
Former Red Sox Catcher Suddenly Lands In A Spot Boston Fans Will Notice
Matt Thaiss is back on the move after his brief stop with Boston ended last week, when the Red Sox released him from a non-roster deal. The veteran catcher, who has spent parts of seven major league seasons and has done most of his work with the Angels, quickly found another organization looking for experienced depth behind the plate.
For Red Sox fans, the name will ring a bell because Thaiss had been in the system not long ago, and his latest landing spot is the sort of transaction that often gets noticed only in passing until injuries or inconsistency force a club to lean on it. Houston is adding him to its Triple-A mix for catching depth, which keeps him on the radar as a familiar face from Bostons recent spring and minor league shuffle. [Read more 🡒]
Kristian Campbell Is Suddenly Forcing A Tough Red Sox Decision
Kristian Campbells season has been uneven enough that Triple-A Worcester started to feel like a reset point, but the recent stretch has changed the conversation. After Boston committed to him with an eight-year, $60 million deal at the start of the 2025 season, Campbell has begun showing the kind of offensive progress the Red Sox were hoping would show up more consistently, hitting .273 with an .805 OPS in the second half and climbing above .300 in July with a 1.006 OPS.
The better contact has come with more impact, too, as Campbell has recently turned in multiple home runs and even a 2-for-3 game with a homer during this surge. For a player the Red Sox still view as part of their long-term picture, that kind of production creates a familiar roster dilemma: keep letting him build momentum in Worcester, or keep the door open for another look in Boston while the bat is finally starting to look like it belongs. [Read more 🡒]
Red Sox Fans Turned Fenway Into Absolute Chaos Against Toronto
Fenway Park got a little louder and a lot more unhinged during Bostons game against the Toronto Blue Jays, as Red Sox fans joined the tarps off movement and turned the stands into a moving sea of bare chests and waving shirts. The scene stretched across the ballpark, giving the kind of edge-to-edge energy that usually belongs to October, not a regular night when the crowd is simply looking for a way to push its team forward.
The stunt has become a recognizable bit of baseball fan culture after starting in college football and catching on in MLB through St. Louis Cardinals supporters, who eventually got a dedicated high-energy section at Busch Stadium. Bostons version fit the moment at Fenway perfectly, with fans leaning into the chaos and making sure the atmosphere felt less like a routine divisional game and more like a full-on rally. [Read more 🡒]