Aroldis Chapman could be in line for a return to the National League.
The San Diego Padres are eyeing the veteran Boston Red Sox reliever Chapman on the trade market, Bob Nightengale of USA Today Sports reported on Sunday. Nightengale notes that the Padres are looking for more bullpen help ahead of the Aug. 3 trade deadline.
Chapman, the 38-year-old lefty, has performed very well as Boston’s closer this season. He holds a sparkling 0.51 ERA and a 0.85 WHIP with 23 strikeouts and 12 total saves.
But the save opportunities have been few and far between for Chapman given how poor the Red Sox have been as an overall unit. Boston currently sits at 22-30 (fifth in the AL East), which means that they are a prime candidate to sell at the trade deadline.
As for the Padres, they are very much in playoff position at 31-20 on the year (one game behind the rival Los Angeles Dodgers atop the NL West division). Though their closer Mason Miller has been looking like the very best reliever in baseball this season while fellow righties Jason Adam and Jeremiah Estrada have also provided support, San Diego is weak on lefty options in the bullpen, especially with Adrian Morejon posting a 4.44 ERA to this point of the year.
Chapman is making $13 million this season and also has a mutual option also worth $13 million on his contract for 2027, which carries a $300,000 buyout. That will make Chapman prime trade fodder this summer (though we do already know of one team that he will not be going to).
