Giants retain invaluable building block in Chapman with extension originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SAN FRANCISCO — Matt Chapman was removed from the roster about an hour before first pitch Wednesday, and, oddly enough, the Giants did not give a reason. Immediately after the game, manager Bob Melvin said his third baseman was not injured.
“He’s doing well,” Melvin said of his most enduring player. “It was time to give him one.”
The Giants are giving Chapman much more than that.
A few minutes after the clubhouse closed, the Giants announced that Chapman has agreed to terms of a six years, $151 million contract an extension, a deal that will keep him from retiring this offseason and likely keep him in San Francisco for the rest of his career.
The 31-year-old is a client of Scott Boras, and Boras almost always prefers his stars hit the open market. But Chapman presented a unique case. Boras has so many marquee clients this winter, chief among them Juan Soto — that Chapman might have had to wait until the dust settled. He wouldn’t necessarily have been the most sought-after third baseman on the market; Alex Bregmananother Boras client, will also become a free agent.
Chapman had plenty of reasons to be proactive, including this one: He loves playing in San Francisco and feels rejuvenated here. The Giants feel the same way about the player who has been their leader this season and posted numbers that are more in keeping with his star years across the bay.
Chapman has 22 home runs and a .778 OPSand he appears to be a good bet to win his fifth Gold Glove. He entered the day ranked 13th in the major leagues in fWAR, and he easily leads all third basemen in the National League. He’s also posting every day, as Wednesday’s rare break was just his fourth of the season.
The Giants are betting that Chapman can maintain that production, and at the very least, his glove is a carry tool that should allow him to remain valuable even if other areas of his game start to slip. They’re betting big, too.
Chapman back in the bay area Partly because he found the market surprisingly cold last winter. The Giants offered him a modest three-year, $54 million contract, which excited their manager, who has made no secret of his desire for a reunion.
The Giants will nearly triple that contract to secure Chapman’s services through 2030, pairing him with Jung Hoo Leethe only other player to sign a six-year contract under Farhan Zaidi. The president of baseball operations will have a news conference with Chapman and Boras on Thursday morning, and that may give some idea of where the ownership leadership is headed.
Chapman watched the Giants fall four games below .500 on Wednesday, and given how tough the rest of the schedule has been, there’s a good chance they’ll finish somewhere in the 70s in the win column. They’re already double-digits behind three other teams in their division, and the next few weeks should be filled with rumors about Zaidi’s status. But the owners likely followed his lead with one of the biggest decisions of his tenure, handing out the second-largest contract in franchise history after just Buster PoseyThe extension of .
Zaidi got the Giants to strike before the postseason started this time around. There will be time for Soto rumors and Blake Snell After losing Posey and Brandon, the Giants managed to bring back one of their most important pieces. After losing Posey and Brandon, they made sure the hitting room has a leader for years to come.
Chapman is under contract through 2030 and will earn $25 million each of the next six seasons. In 2025, he will receive a $1 million signing bonus. Perhaps that is what his lucky manager was referring to.
