Fansided

Red Sox fans threaten revolt after Boston inexplicably signs Aroldis Chapman

New England is not taking this news well.
ByChris Landers|
Pittsburgh Pirates v St. Louis Cardinals
Pittsburgh Pirates v St. Louis Cardinals | Joe Puetz/GettyImages

Fans of the Boston Red Sox woke up this morning with dreams of a Juan Soto signing dancing through their head. Instead, they got a different former New York Yankee: 36-year-old lefty Aroldis Chapman.

Boston did need help at the back-end of its bullpen, and it needed more reliable lefty options for Alex Cora to work with. But this particular lefty, one of the most reviled men in New England during his Yankees tenure, is not exactly what fans had in mind — especially given all the recent talk about how this winter would be different for John Henry and Craig Breslow.

There's still plenty of time for the Red Sox to turn this offseason around. Maybe they land Soto after all, or swing a trade for Garrett Crochet, or sign Alex Bregman and Max Fried. Right now, though, the only thing they've done is sign the one player their fans have spent the better part of the past decade loving to hate. And it's safe to say that Red Sox Nation did not take the news well.

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Best social media reactions from Red Sox fans after Boston signs Aroldis Chapman

Of course, it doesn't help that Chapman remains incapable of posting anything remotely normal to social media. His way of ingratiating himself to his new fan base? Taking the most poorly lit photo humanly possible, in which he also happens to be standing approximately 20 feet away from the camera. Not off to a great start!

Of course, Yankees fans couldn't help but laugh. They don't have any warm fuzzies about Chapman either, and were all too happy to remind Boston of what they thought of the reliever when he was in New York.

It's safe to say that this wasn't what Red Sox fans had in mind for their team's first big splash of the offseason. But hey: At least he has plenty of experience at Fenway Park.

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