Blue Jays and Athletics are finalizing a deal that will send a third baseman Matt Chapman From Auckland to Toronto, Tweets John Morosi of MLB.com. he is Add Jays is not expected to include any prospective members of the opening day roster in the deal. Carlos Berga, the former All Star second baseman, who previously broke the news about the signing of the Jays both Yemi Garcia and (last season out) Marcus SiminAnd the First reported on Instagram That a valid commercial agreement.
The acquisition of Chapman would give the Blue Jays not only the third best defensive player in the game but also one of the best baseball players in any position. Since Chapman debuted in the 2017 Major League, his 88 defensive points have been saved and he ranked 47.3 in the Ultimate Zone both in track only. Mocky Pets And the Andrelton Simmons Among all the great pioneers. The Statcast Outs measure is largely above average, ranking him 10th among all the top league players, regardless of position, since 2017. In fact, Chapman has been twice recognized as the best defender in the league by his selection as the Platinum Glove winner. in the league.
Of course, Chapman is far from being just a gauntlet. From 2018-19, he was a legitimate candidate for Player of the Year based on the strength of his combined offensive and defensive prowess. The previous No. 25 overall pick scored 263/.348/.507 slashes with 60 home points while playing his home games at the Oakland Coliseum during those two seasons, finishing top 7 in the MLS Player of the Year vote on both occasions.
Chapman’s offensive production has fallen sharply over the past two seasons, due in large part to a major groin injury in 2020 he tried to play through. Before undergoing surgery. This procedure repaired the labrum tear and “cleaned” the head of the right femur. Even with his lower production, Chapman still commands power (37 home runs, 0.216 ISO) and draws plenty of walking (11.4%), but his strike rate has gone from 22.8% in 2018-2019 all the way to 33.1% in 2020-21. Over the past two seasons, he has posted a combined .215/.206/.431 hitting streak.
The Jays are certainly betting that Chapman will bounce back somewhat on the board now 18 months after his September 2020 surgery. However, even if he doesn’t return to his MVP-caliber levels from 2018-19, the new release of Chapman’s real three hits He still deserved 3.5 wins above substitution for both Baseball-Reference and FanGraphs last season. It’s a clear upgrade for a Jays team who are hoping to run a deep post-season on a dominant attacking and rotating powerhouse that has improved by leaps and bounds in recent seasons.
More is coming.