Are the Boston Red Sox completely comfortable with their closer situation?
37-year-old Aroldis Chapman has been solid to begin the 2025 campaign, but not perfect. The first blemish on Chapman’s resume as a Red Sox arrived on Saturday when he allowed a walk-off RBI single to Chicago White Sox infielder Brooks Baldwin in the bottom of the ninth.
Baldwin’s frozen rope off Chapman brought home White Sox outfielder Luis Robert Jr., whom Chapman had walked earlier in the inning.
Chapman took the loss on Saturday but bounced back on Sunday for Boston, earning his third save of the season as the Red Sox avoided a sweep in Chicago.
Chapman is now 2-1 on the season with a 1.29 ERA, 11 strikeouts, and three saves. He won Boston’s closer role in Spring Training over 36-year-old Liam Hendriks, who has overcome a ton over the past few years but is once again on the Injured List to start the season.
Chapman hasn’t been disappointing on the whole, but the Red Sox still might feel a tad uneasy having Chapman and Hendriks (at 37 and 36 years old, respectively) operating as the club’s primary closer options when September and October roll around.
Baldwin’s frozen rope off Chapman brought home White Sox outfielder Luis Robert Jr., whom Chapman had walked earlier in the inning.
Chapman took the loss on Saturday but bounced back on Sunday for Boston, earning his third save of the season as the Red Sox avoided a sweep in Chicago.
Even if Chapman stays healthy and Hendriks returns to the fray (a big “if” on both accounts), it might behoove the Red Sox to sniff around the trade market for another late-inning reliever, or even a bona fide closer.
That’s where the St. Louis Cardinals come into play.
The Cardinals have a 30-year-old reigning National League Reliever of the Year and Major League Baseball saves leader on their roster in the form of Ryan Helsley, but Helsley also happens to be entering unrestricted free agency after this season.
If the Cards are sellers when the deadline approaches, they’ll likely deem it a wise move to get some value in exchange for Helsley before losing him for nothing in free agency.
Helsley would undoubtedly have a handful of suitors knocking down St. Louis’ door, including the New York Yankees.
The Yanks entering the Helsley sweepstakes would give the Red Sox even more reason to also enter the race and snag Helsley away from their bitter rivals.
Boston could dangle some of its elite prospect capital (not named Marcelo Mayer or Roman Anthony) in front of the Cardinals in exchange for Helsley, and who knows, perhaps St. Louis would continue discussions by asking about guys like Triston Casas, Ceddanne Rafaela, or Trevor Story.
The main takeaway here is that if the Red Sox are serious about guaranteeing postseason success in 2025, they might want to upgrade their late-inning relief situation in a big way.
