In a closer battle between Aroldis Chapman, Liam Hendriks, and Justin Slaten, there really wasn’t too much back-and-forth competition from everyone involved. Hendriks showed post-injury inconsistency, and Slaten—barring any stellar spring training—will likely be deferred for more experience.
Now, Red Sox fans get to deal with a closer who, by the latter part of Chapman’s Yankees career, almost had us licking our lips heading into the ninth inning. “To hit the strike zone or not to hit the strike zone” will be the phrase of the season in the ninth, and it’s fair to have some optimism considering Chapman’s recent stint with the Pirates.
Some leftover questions: Should the Red Sox have taken on Chapman’s sporadically hectic pitching, knowing he’d have a good chance to close? And should they have entered spring training with more qualified options? Either way, Chapman has shown encouraging signs with his steady velocity, and coming off a better season last year, maybe he’s ready to locate more consistently.
Flavin Media 
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