On Friday, the Royals officially announced what had been reported earlier this week, that they had signed reliever Aroldis Chapman to a one-year deal. MLB.com reporter Mark Feinsand had previously reported the deal was for $3.5 million with performance bonuses.
Chapman is a seven-time All-Star reliever who at his prime was one of the most dominating closers in baseball with a fastball in the triple digits. In 13 seasons with the Reds, Cubs, and Yankees, the Cuban-born lefty has 315 career saves, a 2.48 ERA and 14.7 strikeouts-per-nine-innings.
Aroldis was an All-Star as recently as 2021, but struggled last year with an ERA of 4.