He has previously played in MLB for the Cincinnati Reds, New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Kansas City Royals, Texas Rangers, and Pittsburgh Pirates and in the Cuban National Series for Holguín.

He won the MLB Delivery Man of the Month Award as the best relief pitcher for July 2012, was named to four straight National League All-Star teams from 2012 to 2015.

[10] Chapman eventually established residency in Andorra[11] and petitioned MLB to be granted free agent status.

[5] Chapman made his Major League debut August 31, 2010, in the eighth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers; his first pitch was clocked at 98 mph (158 km/h) as a called strike (which was promptly tossed to the dugout by catcher Ryan Hanigan, to be saved).

[19] Chapman threw the fastest pitch recognized by MLB on September 24, 2010, at Petco Park in San Diego, California.

[3] In Game 2 of the 2010 NLDS against the Philadelphia Phillies, Chapman allowed three unearned runs due to miscues of the outfielders.

[24] Chapman won the MLB Delivery Man of the Month Award for July 2012, in which he recorded 13 saves while not allowing a run in 14+1⁄3 innings while striking out 31 batters—more than 60% of the batters he faced.

During a spring training game against the Kansas City Royals on March 19, 2014, Chapman was struck in the head by a line drive from Salvador Pérez.

[34] On September 23, 2014, Chapman recorded his 100th strikeout in his 51st inning pitched of the season, making him the fastest pitcher ever to reach that milestone.

Cincinnati received four minor league players including right-handed pitchers Caleb Cotham and Rookie Davis, and infielders Eric Jagielo and Tony Renda in the exchange.

[41] MLB suspended Chapman for the first 30 games of the season due to an off-season personal conduct policy violation related to domestic violence.

[44] On July 25, 2016, the Yankees traded Chapman to the Chicago Cubs for Gleyber Torres, Billy McKinney, Adam Warren, and Rashad Crawford.

Chapman made his first appearance as a member of the Cubs on July 27, pitching a 1–2–3 ninth and striking out two batters in a non-save situation.

[47] Chapman's workload in the 2016 World Series escalated with the Cubs facing elimination at the hands of the Cleveland Indians.

Down 3–1 in the series, Chapman pitched through the seventh, eighth, and ninth innings of Game 5, allowing only one hit and preserving the Cubs' 3–2 lead.

The Cubs tallied the game-winning run in the 10th inning, making Chapman the winning pitcher and giving him his first World Series title.

Later that month, Chapman gave up only his third home run off a left-hander when Yonder Alonso of the Seattle Mariners hit one of his 101 mph fastballs out.

[61] On September 2, Chapman received a three-game suspension for throwing a pitch at the head of Tampa Bay Rays batter Mike Brosseau.

[62] Brosseau later hit a game-winning home run off Chapman in Game 5 of the ALDS, effectively ending the Yankees season.

Chapman went on the injured list in May 2022 due to achilles tendinitis[66] and lost the closer role to Clay Holmes.

[68] Chapman missed a mandatory workout before the 2022 American League Division Series and was left off the team's postseason roster.

On June 30, 2023, the Royals traded Chapman to the Texas Rangers in exchange for Cole Ragans and Roni Cabrera.

That same year, Statcast revealed that Chapman threw the 62 fastest pitches of the season, topping out at 103.92 miles per hour (167.24 km/h).

[85] On September 24, 2010, against the San Diego Padres, Chapman was clocked at 105.1 mph (169.1 km/h), according to PITCHf/x, the fastest pitch ever recorded in Major League Baseball.

In May 2012, Chapman was sued for allegedly serving as "an informant for Cuban state authorities after a failed defection attempt and help[ing] turn in another man in order to get back on the country's national baseball team.

"[95] On December 7, 2015, news broke that Chapman was involved in an alleged domestic violence incident with his girlfriend in Davie, Florida at his home on October 30, 2015.

[96] A pending trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers was put on hold as MLB announced it would investigate the incident as part of its personal conduct policy.

[97] In the incident, he was accused of pushing his girlfriend, putting his hands around her neck, and choking her, and subsequently firing eight gunshots.

[98] No charges were filed by the police due to inconsistency of the reports and insufficient evidence, and his attorney issued a statement denying the allegations.

Although he was not charged, MLB suspended Chapman for 30 games as a result of his "use of a firearm and the impact of that behavior on his partner," ending May 9, 2016.