MLB Offseason Roundup: Pirates Make Surprise Signing, Dodgers Progressing on Paxton
This is one in a series of daily articles highlighting the latest news and notes from the MLB offseason.
The Pittsburgh Pirates made a surprise signing on Monday, landing free agent relief pitcher Aroldis Chapman on a one-year, $10.5 million deal. A source confirmed the agreement to Pittsburgh Baseball Now.
The deal bolsters the Pirates’ bullpen, which already looked like a strength heading into the upcoming season.
Chapman turned back the clock last year in his age-35 season. He split time between the Kansas City Royals and Texas Rangers and finished with a 3.09 ERA and a 2.52 FIP with 103 strikeouts in 58.1 innings. His strikeout and innings totals were his highest in a single season since 2015, then a member of the Cincinnati Reds.
The left-hander is a 14-year major league veteran and has a career 2.53 ERA with 321 saves in 728 relief appearances.
Chapman will join two-time All-Star closer David Bednar in the back of the Pirates’ bullpen to form a daunting one-two punch. Other members of Pittsburgh’s bullpen include Colin Holderman, Carmen Mlodzinski, Dauri Moreta and Ryan Borucki.
PAXTON HEADED TO L.A.?
The Los Angeles Dodgers have dominated the MLB offseason, and it doesn’t appear they are done yet.
According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the Dodgers are working on a deal to land left-handed starting pitcher James Paxton. The potential agreement is said to be in the range of $12 million.
Paxton spent the 2023 season with the Boston Red Sox after not pitching the previous year. He made 19 starts in total and went 7-5 with a 4.50 ERA in 96 innings pitched.
The Dodgers have already added Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow to their rotation this winter (Shohei Ohtani too, but he won’t pitch in 2024), and Paxton looks destined to join those additions.
