BOSTON -- Roughly 15 years ago, the snow was falling from the winter sky, and Aroldis Chapman remembers throwing ¡°a few pitches¡± in the bullpen at Fenway Park.

He had just defected from Cuba and the Red Sox were one of the teams interested in signing the fireballing lefty.

¡°I threw a few pitches. I don't remember how many, but I do remember that it was very cold out there,¡± said Chapman on Thursday. ¡°I think it was snowing in the bullpen. It was my first experience in this kind of weather.¡±

Other memories from that first trip to Boston?

¡°One of the first memories that I have coming here to Fenway Park in 2009, it was meeting David Ortiz and also [Daisuke] Matsuzaka,¡± Chapman said, ¡°I also met Luis Tiant. He took me out to dinner when I was here. So those were my first memories in Boston.¡±

Chit-chat with Big Papi and a feast with the late, great El Tiante was not enough to tip the scales in Boston¡¯s favor at that time. Chapman wound up signing a six-year, $30.25 million deal with the Reds -- not the Red Sox -- and started what has been a highly-successful career in 2010.

Fifteen seasons and several teams later, Chapman will finally throw his first official pitch for the Red Sox early in the 2025 season. The 36-year-old Chapman recently signed a one-year, $10.75 million contract to become the lead lefty of Boston¡¯s bullpen.

Chapman going to the Red Sox came together quickly, and without any spillage on the rumor mill beforehand.

¡°I¡¯m very happy to be here in such a historic organization, one of the biggest baseball organizations in the league, and for me, it's a huge honor to be here,¡± Chapman said. ¡°When my agent brought the option to go to Boston, for me, it was happiness. I was very happy to be able to come to Boston.¡±

In a way, the Red Sox had a head start.

¡°Yes, it was definitely something that was on my mind when the offseason started,¡± Chapman said. ¡°Last year, we had a few conversations, but it was already late in the process and I already gave my word to the Pirates. But yeah, happy to be here. This is a franchise that is always looking to be in the playoffs, to win, and for me to be here is a huge honor. When they contacted me, I knew that this was somewhere that I wanted to be. And everything went very quickly.¡±

Though perhaps not as quick as Chapman¡¯s fastball travels. That hasn¡¯t slowed down a whole lot over the last decade-and-a-half. Per Baseball Savant, Chapman¡¯s sinker roared in at an average of 99.8 mph last season, while his four-seamer purred in at 97.8.

How does he maintain that velocity at this stage of his career?

¡°I think that firstly, God blessed me. But after that, I feel like the hard work and the dedication that I put in every single day is something that also helped me to maintain my velocity throughout the years,¡± said Chapman.

His overall fastball velocity was in the 98th percentile in 2024.

At the same time, Chapman knows he has to evolve at his age. And to that end, he is starting to mix in his two-seamer -- classified as a splitter on Savant -- more often. He threw 135 of them last year, good for 12 percent of his pitch usage.

¡°I think I always had that pitch, I just wasn¡¯t using it a lot,¡± Chapman said. ¡°I feel like this year it¡¯s a pitch I¡¯m probably going to use more.¡±

A seven-time All-Star with 335 career saves, Chapman has more often been used in a setup capacity the past few years. If that¡¯s the case again in Boston, he seems fine with it.

¡°We had time to talk, but nothing about [my role],¡± said Chapman. ¡°I feel like I don't have any problem pitching in any kind of situation. I¡¯ve pretty much been in every role in the bullpen, so anytime they need me, I'll be ready to pitch.¡±