Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
1. Boston Red Sox
Unlike the other two teams on this list, Boston wasn’t a major contender for Chapman’s services at the July deadline this summer. However, with a change in leadership and a sense of urgency to turn the Red Sox around fast, it seems new boss Dave Dombrowski is looking to bolster his bullpen in dramatic fashion. Koji Uehara is already a fixture in the back of the pen, but things get thin beyond that. Adding Chapman gives the Red Sox the back-end one-two punch that has become the popular trend in constructing a bullpen in baseball.
Boston has plenty of prospect depth to deal from, and Dombrowski has shown a willingness to move prospect talent in bulk to improve his major-league club. That gives Boston as big an edge as any if they’re willing to get Chapman at any cost; the question is whether or not the Red Sox will ultimately agree on a fair price for one year of Chapman and potential draft pick compensation. But it seems he’s their’s to lose.