2016 World Series Champion Aroldis Chapman has agreed to join the Kansas City Royals for the upcoming 2023 MLB season as the long-time closer has agreed to a one-year $3.75 million deal.
Chapman gets one year at $3.75 million plus performance bonuses from the Royals, per source.
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) January 19, 2023
The 300-save club member is coming off of a season in which he posted the worst ERA of his career at 4.46; with that said, Chapman was a perfect nine for nine in save opportunities for the Yankees. Chapman had a nice run in the Bronx, including being named the American League Reliever of the Year in 2019, being selected as a member of the All-MLB Second Team in 2019, and being named an All-Star three times.
As for the Royals, it will be interesting to see if competition will be had between Chapman and the team’s closer of the last couple of years, Scott Barlow. Barlow is coming off the best season of his career, in which he had a career-high twenty-four saves in twenty-eight opportunities while having a career-best 2.18 ERA.
After reading those numbers, it may seem odd to some that KC went and signed Chapman, but perhaps they want to try to motivate Barlow even more, or they don’t believe he is that good of a closer. To compare the ages of the two, Chapman is just four years older than Barlow, but with that said, Chapman is going into his fourteenth season, and Barlow will be pitching in his sixth big league season.
All in all, it will be interesting to see if Chapman beats out Barlow and if he somehow elevates this Royals team to be better than what is expected of them. Also, if Chapman is back to his old self and the Royals are not competing for the playoffs, they could look to flip Chapman for a pair of prospects when the trade deadline comes in late July/early August.
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