Giants Make Sense For Matt Chapman
11 months agoOf the teams that could use free-agent third baseman Matt Chapman, the San Francisco Giants know him as well as anyone. President of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi was with the Oakland Athletics for Chapman's first two seasons, and new manager Bob Melvin was for all five of Chapman's seasons in Oakland. Third base coach Matt Williams, who was with the A's in 2019 and '19, is an admirer of Chapman's. The 30-year-old would help the Giants' shortage of power while also providing an everyday anchor and stability on the left side of the infield. However, he's also just a year younger than Evan Longoria when he arrived in a trade from the Tampa Bay Rays in December of 2017. Longo had an OPS+ just three percent above league average in his five seasons in San Fran. Chapman is a four-time Gold Glover but hit just .205 with a .659 OPS after April 30, although his hard-hit and exit-velocity numbers for 2023 were among the best in MLB, suggesting a bounce-back season could be coming.
Source: The Athletic - Ken Rosenthal
Source: The Athletic - Ken Rosenthal