What Current Red Sox Relievers Can Learn From 2013 Champions

The Boston Red Sox appear to have their closer to start 2025 with a strong spring from Aroldis Chapman.

Liam Hendriks and Justin Slaten also made runs as candidates for the job, but Chapman’s experience (335 saves) and spring performance should earn him the spot. His stuff still has enough to overpower hitters in his age-37 season with the chance to lock down wins for the Red Sox.

The competition was a needed one for Boston as Alex Cora’s clubs often operate better with an established closer rather than a by-committee approach.

Here’s how the three Red Sox candidates performed entering Thursday:

Aroldis Chapman
Spring stats: six appearances, 3.38 ERA, 5 1/3 innings, three hits, four walks, 10 strikeouts

Justin Slaten
Spring stats: four appearances, 4.91 ERA, 3 2/3 innings, four hits, two walks, three strikeouts

Liam Hendriks
Spring stats: five appearances, 10.80 ERA, 5.0 innings, 12 hits, six earned runs, two home runs, no walks, four strikeouts

Chapman probably is the right choice to start the season with the ball in his hands for the ninth inning. That’s not to say the Red Sox won’t have other arms eventually take that role at some point during the season. That’s been the case for other reasons in somewhat recent memory for Boston and it led to a title.

The Red Sox had depth with talented relievers in 2013, which turned out to be a blessing. Joel Hanrahan and Andrew Bailey, who each came to Boston with All-Star closing resumes, each went down with injuries. That pushed Koji Uehara into the role, who flourished down the stretch into October and closed out the eighth World Series title in Red Sox history.

Injuries forced different circumstances back then, but if Hendriks or Slaten meet the moment consistently during the season, there’s no reason Boston can’t have a conversation about a new arm taking over the ninth inning. For now, Chapman showed why he’s the man for early-season save opportunities.