Third baseman Matt Chapman, one of the top remaining available free agents, is reportedly headed to San Francisco.
Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported late Friday night that Chapman and the San Francisco Giants agreed on a three-year, $54 million deal.
The deal will pay Chapman $20 million in 2024, $18 million in 2025 and $16 million in 2026. He will have a player option though for both the 2025 and 2026 seasons.
Chapman hit 17 home runs and slashed at .240/.330/.424 with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2023. In two years with the Blue Jays, he slashed .234/.327/.429 and hit 44 home runs. He figures to be part of a new-look Giants lineup, which will include fellow free agent Jorge Soler Jung-hoo Lee.
In addition to his bat, Chapman has also been one of MLB’s top defensive players throughout his career, winning four Gold Gloves at third base (including 2023) and two Platinum Gloves. The general feeling in the aftermath of the deal being reported was that it was a good one for the Giants.
The Dodgers may have spent $1 billion this offseason, but the Giants did exceptionally well in the discount bin.
Adding Soler & Chapman transformed their team for this season. https://t.co/WpJJKIZW7I
— Matt Williams (@MattWi77iams) March 2, 2024
This will be a return to the Bay Area for Chapman, who broke into MLB in 2017 with the Oakland Athletics. Chapman played with the A’s through the 2021 season before getting traded Toronto, where he spent the 2022 and 2023 seasons. It will also reunite him with Bob Melvin, who managed Chapman during his entire time in Oakland. Like Chapman, Melvin left the A’s after the 2021 season.
With Chapman off the board, reigning National League Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell (who the Giants have also shown interest in) and Texas Rangers pitcher Jordan Montgomery are the two big-name free agents remaining.
[Jon Heyman on Twitter/X]