Pirates sign 7-time All-Star reliever Aroldis Chapman, DFA OF Canaan Smith-Njigba

Aroldis Chapman was willing to put the past behind him to sign with the Pittsburgh Pirates, even if it means that the seven-time All-Star reliever won’t be serving as their closer.

Chapman signed a one-year contract worth $10.5 million with the Pirates on Wednesday that made the free agent their biggest acquisition of the offseason. It bolstered the back end of a bullpen that already features two-time All-Star closer David Bednar, who greeted Chapman during his visit to PNC Park.

“We haven’t discussed it yet, but it’s just something I’m pretty easy going about,” Chapman said. “There’s just no issue for me. I’m flexible, and I know that there’s a closer here and a very good one at that. … Wherever they see fit to put me, I’m willing to help out.”

To make room on the 40-man roster, the Pirates designated outfielder Canaan Smith-Njigba for assignment. Smith-Njigba was the starting right fielder on Opening Day at Cincinnati last year but spent most of the season at Triple-A Indianapolis.

The 35-year-old Chapman split last season between the Kansas City Royals and World Series champion Texas Rangers. He went a combined 6-5 with a 3.09 ERA and 1.25 WHIP with six saves and 103 strikeouts in 58¹⁄₃ innings over 61 appearances.

The 6-foot-4, 235-pound left-hander didn’t allow a run in 24 of 31 appearances for the Royals before being traded to the Rangers on June 30. He posted a 3.72 ERA in 29 innings over 30 games in the regular season, which he lowered to 2.25 in nine postseason appearances while serving as the setup man to Jose Leclerc.

Chapman believes the Pirates, who made a 14-win improvement from 2022 to finish fourth in the NL Central, have a talented young core that is ready to become contenders.

“It’s a young team and they seem really thirsty to win, and I’m an athlete who likes to compete,” Chapman said on a video conference call, “so being here with a team who really wants to get in this division race and start winning was good for me.”

With 1,148 career strikeouts, Chapman ranks 10th all-time among relievers and third among lefties behind Billy Wagner (1,196) and Jesse Orosco (1,169). He has converted 88.2% of his career save opportunities (321 of 364) but lost his closer job to Clay Holmes while with the New York Yankees in 2022. That motivated Chapman to train harder last offseason in an effort to return to dominance.

Per Statcast, Chapman ranked in the 99th percentile or higher in fastball velocity (99.5 mph), whiff percentage (44.2%), strikeout rate (41.4%) and expected batting average (.171) and in the 95th percentile in expected ERA (2.82) last season. On the flip side, his 23.4% chase rate led to a 14.5% walk rate that ranked among MLB’s worst.

“Aroldis has been among a handful of the most dominant relief pitchers in baseball for the last decade,” Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said in a statement. “He’s performed on the biggest stage and, through his outstanding work ethic, has retained elite stuff that helps him succeed in the most difficult parts of the game. We are excited to see him in black and gold and for him to join our bullpen group.”

Chapman has spent nearly half of his career pitching in the NL Central Division — six seasons with the Reds and half of one with the 2016 World Series champion Cubs — and has a career 0.75 ERA and 0.83 WHIP with seven saves while recording 36 strikeouts and 11 walks without a home run allowed in 24 innings at PNC Park.

“Obviously, I had spent a lot of years coming here playing in this division,” Chapman said. “The ballpark is so beautiful. It’s one of the best ballparks in the league. That coupled with the fact that I had already been in this division, had some familiarity with it and made it an attractive choice. I knew it would be good for me to come back.”

For Pirates fans wondering if there is still bad blood with fan favorite Andrew McCutchen, who was hit in the back by the lefty’s 101-mph fastball in August 2012, Chapman assured that they patched up any hard feelings as teammates with the Yankees in 2018.

“Obviously, we had an incident going back to when I was with the Reds. But those are things that are part of life in baseball. You get caught up in the games,” Chapman said. “But from my time with him at the Yankees, I can say he’s an excellent person. He’s an excellent ballplayer. I’m glad I was able to build a relationship there with him.”

Chapman also said he put his 30-game suspension in 2016 for violating MLB’s personal conduct policy related to domestic violence behind him, as well, after receiving counseling.

“I would say that I feel like I’m a different person now. I’m a better person than I was,” Chapman said. “That was an incident that was in the past, and I dealt with that with MLB and I was punished for it. I did receive help after that, speaking with someone and working through that. It’s something that when I get a chance to work with younger players, it’s something I share so it’s, hopefully, something they don’t make the same mistakes and they can learn from that experience, which I have.”