Aroldis Chapman came within a hair’s breadth of being traded to the White Sox

About three weeks ago, the Boston Red Sox were well on their way to becoming sellers ahead of the MLB trade deadline. Rumors were swirling everywhere about which players might leave Massachusetts and which teams might acquire their services.

In fact, according to longtime Chicago-based reporter George Ofman, the Red Sox and the White Sox came within a hair's breadth of finalizing a trade that would have sent Aroldis Chapman to the Windy City.

I was told that the White Sox were very close to acquiring Aroldis Chapman before the Red Sox went on their incredible winning streak. I don't know who the White Sox offered in return.

It was an open secret that Chapman was going to be available on the trade market, as he was then considered potentially the best reliever available. There was even a point when Jeff Passan and Kiley McDaniel of ESPN gave him a more than 90% chance of ending up elsewhere.

What's more, the Red Sox and the White Sox have been trade partners for quite some time. Just think of the spectacular trade between the two teams when Boston acquired Garrett Hook before the 2025 season. Not to mention the time the Sox acquired Chris Sale from the White Sox.

During the last offseason, rumors circulated that Boston had expressed interest in reacquiring catcher Kyle Teel, who had been traded in exchange for Captain Crochet. Perhaps he was part of the package for Chapman's services.

But we'll never know, since a miraculous streak of fifteen straight wins turned everything upside down in Boston. So much so that the Sox will most likely be on the buying side by August 3.

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