The worst-kept secret in Giants camp through the first three weeks was new manager Bob Melvin's desire for a reunion with Matt Chapman. On Friday, president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi called him in.
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Breaking: Matt Chapman to Giants. $20M $18M $16M. A total of $54 million. 2 opt-outs.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) March 2, 2024
The Giants and Chapman have agreed to a three-year, $54 million contract, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported late Friday night. The contract reportedly includes an opt-out option after the first two seasons, making it similar to the contract Cody Bellinger, another Scott Boras client, recently signed with the Chicago Cubs.
When camp opened last month, Boras still had the four best players on the market. He has now found homes for two of them, and the Giants are still pursuing a third, according to sources. They remained patient and kept Chapman and reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell in the mix in recent days, with Chapman adding another big hitter to a new-look lineup.
Chapman joins Jung Hoo Lee and Jorge Soler as notable newcomers and will likely hit either directly in front of or behind Soler, the new cleanup hitter. The 30-year-old has had a down year overall, but has hit 27 home runs in each of the previous two seasons. He was an All-Star in 2019 when he hit 36 for Melvin's Oakland Athletics.
Chapman's OPS of .755 last season was the second-lowest of his career, but according to Baseball-Reference he was still worth 4.4 wins above replacement, a mark that was nearly two wins better than the Giants' top player at the position. The value came primarily from his all-world defense at third base.
Chapman has earned four Gold Glove awards in the past six seasons and twice won the AL Platinum Glove, awarded to the league's best overall defenseman. His presence gives the Giants one of the best third spots in the league and should also benefit another position. Chapman will make life a lot easier for rookie shortstop Marco Luciano.
Adding Chapman gives the Giants a surplus at third and potentially a chance to make some more big moves. Incumbent JD Davis has had a solid year and is off to a strong start this spring, and the Giants also had Casey Schmitt on the roster at third. It's unclear how they'll find playing time for Davis, but Schmitt has been around a lot this spring and got a lot of reps at shortstop early in camp.
The move also eliminates another option for Wilmer Flores, the best hitter on last year's team. But these are issues that Melvin is determined to address. He was there when Chapman hit the big leagues in 2017 and will now reunite with his former A's third baseman across the bridge.
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