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New Boston Red Sox Reliever Aroldis Chapman Set to Make Baseball History with New Deal

Longevity plus success equals big earnings!

Brady Farkas

Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Aroldis Chapman (45) throws against the St. Louis Cardinals during the ninth inning at PNC Park. Pittsburgh won 5-0 in 2024.
Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Aroldis Chapman (45) throws against the St. Louis Cardinals during the ninth inning at PNC Park. Pittsburgh won 5-0 in 2024. / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
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After agreeing to a one-year deal with the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday, longtime reliever Aroldis Chapman is set to make some baseball history. However, it won't be history on the field, it will be at the bank.

Per Cuban Baseball Insider Francys Romero:

Aroldis Chapman will become the highest-earning reliever in MLB history, surpassing Mariano Rivera, with his guaranteed one-year, $10.7M contract with the Boston Red Sox, according to @Spotrac.

Chapman: $176,566,491
Rivera: $169,614,125

He is represented by Wasserman.

A 15-year veteran, Chapman is a testament to the combination of success and longevity. One of the most dominant relievers in baseball for years, he's continued to get jobs with high dollar values. He made more than $11 million in his final year of arbitration (2016) and also signed a five-year $86 million deal in 2017 with the Yankees.

Chapman, who will turn 37 years old before the start of the 2025 season, spent the 2024 campaign with the Pittsburgh Pirates, appearing in 68 games. He went 5-5 with a 3.79 ERA, registering 14 saves in total. He took over at closer at the end of the year for an injured David Bednar, getting nine saves.

Chapman has spent time with the Cincinnati Reds, Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Kansas City Royals, Texas Rangers and Pirates. He helped the Cubs win the World Series in 2016 and the Rangers take the title in 2023.

The Red Sox currently have Liam Hendriks, Michael Fulmer and Chapman at the back-end of the bullpen, giving Alex Cora plenty of options late in games, but it's unknown who will get the first crack at the closer position.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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