One of the most entertaining and consistently positive developments in an otherwise rocky Boston Red Sox season has been the continued dominance of 37-year-old reliever Aroldis Chapman.
In his 16th Major League season, pitching for his seventh different team, the 6-foot-4, 235-pound lefty who defected from Cuba in 2009 has regularly hit 100 miles per hour with his fastball, and even his sinker this year.
But Chapman — who threw a record 1,367 pitches of 100 mph or more in the first five seasons of his career (2009-2014) and still owns the fastest pitch ever recorded at 105.8 mph on September 24, 2010 — has brought more than just raw velocity.
Chapman Used as ‘High Leverage’ Reliever
His base-on-balls percentage of 6.6 would be the lowest of his career. His percentage in 2024, when he pitched for the Pittsburgh Pirates, was a hefty 14.7.
As a result, Chapman has recorded 17 saves in 19 opportunities, a total that would likely be higher except that Red Sox manager Alex Cora often prefers to use Chapman in “high leverage” situations that are not necessarily save opportunities. His eye-opening performance rightly earned Chapman his eighth All-Star selection, and first since 2021 when he pitched for the New York Yankees.
(1.18 ERA at the All Star Break)
But with the Red Sox in the heat of a race to grab a playoff spot, just 1 1/2 games ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays for the third and final American League Wild Card spot prior to Friday’s action, what if they had a second “high leverage,” lockdown reliever for Cora to deploy?
Yoshida Could Headline Powerful Trade Offer
That was a proposal floated by Gabby Maljanian, host of the Locked on Red Sox podcast, on her Friday program.
Maljanian on the podcast explored possibilities for trading Red Sox designated hitter and sometime outfielder Masataka Yoshida. She noted that the 51-51 Cleveland Guardians, who sit eight games behind the Detroit Tigers in the AL Central and three games behind the Red Sox for the third Wild Card, have reportedly been open to trade proposals.
The Guardians have even reportedly bee willing to discuss trading their closer, 27-year-old Emmanuel Clase, who has one year remaining after 2025 on a five-year, $20 million contract.
Clase has already recorded 23 saves this season, after leading the AL in saves for there consecutive years, with 42 in 2022, 44 the following year, and career-high 47 last season.
But Yoshida is in the third season of a five-year, $90 million contract, meaning that the Red Sox would likely need to pay at least a portion of his salary in order to entice the Guardians to take him. Boston would also need to include a highly-ranked prospect in the deal, Maljanian said.
Cleveland Would Need Deal Sweetened With Prospect
“In order to sell a team like Cleveland on Yoshida, what the Red Sox could do is include him in a package,” she said on the Locked On podcast. “I’m thinking something along the lines of maybe shortstop/second baseman Mikey Romero who’s a really talented prospect in the Red Sox system.”
Romero, a 21-year-old middle infielder, was the Red Sox first-round draft pick, 24th overall, out of Orange Lutheran High School in Orange, California, in 2022. The 6-foot, 175-pounder is currently at tyhe Double-A level with the Red Sox Portland Sea Dogs affiliate.
MLB Pipeline has Romero ranked at the No. 8 Red Sox prospect overall.
‘The Password’ To Guardians?
But she also suggests a possible package of Yoshida with a higher-ranked prospect — either 22-year-old Jhostynxon “The Password” Garcia, a power-hitting outfielder with the Triple-A Worcester Red Sox who us currently Boston’s second-ranked prospect — or even 19-year-old Single-A shortstop Franklin Arias, now the No. 1 Red Sox prospect.
“Because they’re top-five prospects in the Red Sox system, that could really help uplift the Guardians farm system to what is already a solid foundation and they don’t really need any more middle infielders or outfielders anytime soon. So, that’s something that could benefit them in the future,” Maljanian said on the podcast.
Trade Pitch Sees Red Sox Get $20 Million Shut Down Reliever For Enticing Package