Sign up for the Today newsletter
Get everything you need to know to start your day, delivered right to your inbox every morning.
Former Red Sox exec says Boston nixed trade for Aroldis Chapman in 2015
"I guess enough time has passed without incident for the Sox to be ok with it now.”
The Red Sox reportedly added to their bullpen on Tuesday by signing Aroldis Chapman, a flame-throwing southpaw with a checked history.
Chapman has an impressive resume. The 36-year-old has won two World Series (2016, 2023) and earned seven All-Star nods over the course of his career. But Chapman’s past actions have put him under severe scrutiny.
In October 2015, Chapman was allegedly involved in a domestic dispute in which his girlfriend accused him of pushing and choking her. During the incident, Chapman admitted to firing gunshots in his garage.
No charges were filed against Chapman because of insufficient evident, but MLB conducted its own investigation and suspended him 30 games under the league’s Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, and Child Abuse Policy ahead of the 2016 season.
Advertisement:
Chapman’s arm has made him a coveted bullpen arm for years — so much so that former Red Sox assistant general manager Zack Scott said on Tuesday that the Red Sox had originally agreed to a deal involving the lefty in 2015.
But according to Scott, the Red Sox backed out of trade talks with the Reds after more details emerged about Chapman’s incident.
“After 2015, we agreed to send [Manuel] Margot and Marco Hernandez to the Reds for Chapman, but it fell apart when we discovered disturbing details about his domestic dispute,” Scott posted on X. “We actually informed the Reds about it. We pivoted to Kimbrel, and Chapman went to the Yankees. I guess enough time has passed without incident for the Sox to be ok with it now.”
Advertisement:
The Red Sox pivoted and went on to acquire Kimbrel from the Padres in November 2015 in exchange for Margot, Javier Guerra, Carlos Asuaje, and Logan Allen.
While Scott noted that the Red Sox steered clear from Chapman after details began to emerge about his domestic incident, those details did not become public until December 2015.
“I want to take this opportunity — I want this to be clear — I’m apologizing because the use of the gun,” Chapman said after reporting to Yankees spring training in March 2016. “It was bad judgment on my part. But I also want to say that I never hurt my girlfriend. I want this to be very clear. I’m taking this punishment because of my bad judgment. [It’s] something that I definitely want to put behind me and move on.”
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com