San Francisco Giants Continue Extension Discussions with Star Infielder

The San Francisco Giants have continued discussing a contract extension with one of their stars.

Aug 20, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants third base Matt Chapman (26) hits a single during the second inning against the Chicago White Sox at Oracle Park. / Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports

The San Francisco Giants signed third baseman Matt Chapman before the 2024 season to a three year, $54 million deal to bolster the lineup. However, they gave him an opt-out clause after the first season, which it seems he will likely use.

It has been reported, the Giants and Chapman are in ongoing discussions about an extension.

On Tuesday, the San Francisco Chronicle's Susan Slusser revealed that she had conversations about the situation with both Chapman's agent, Scott Boras, and president of baseball operations, Farhan Zaidi.

"We've had conversations. We've had active dialogue," Zaidi said.

Chapman was coming off of a down season offensively, but still got a multi-year deal. 2023 saw the star have his lowest home run total since his rookie season with just a 108 OPS+. The 31-year-old is having a bounce back performance in his first campaign with San Francisco, though.

He has already surpassed his home run and RBI totals from last season and currently leads the Giants in both categories. His 122 OPS+ is third on the team, but he leads San Francisco in bWAR with 5.6.

The four time Gold Glove winner has been one of the best Giants players all year, and the team wants to make sure that he is locked up.

"Obviously, they have interest, so we let them know that Matt plays well in San Francisco, plays well in the Bay Area, and having seasons like he did in 2018-19 and this year – it’s a good environment for him. Certainly we are interested in listening to what they have to say," Boras told Slusser.

Chapman, having spent five years with the Oakland Athletics, is familiar with the area. He was also able to reunite with his former manager, Bob Melvin, in his first year with the Giants.

"Obviously, Matt's healthy this year, and he’s among the top infielders in baseball in WAR, so he’s kind of sitting there in a class by himself," Boras said.

The third baseman is currently in the top 10 in terms of defensive bWAR in baseball for the 2024 season.

San Francisco has become known for being in the mix on many free agents, but never being able to close the deal. During this past offseason, there was a lot of controversy about the city itself being the issue.

Boras recognizes that, and knows how they have to act.

"San Francisco has such a difficult time recruiting players in that market, and when you find players that do that, it's something where you've got to be aggressive. You should be aggressive because other teams are going to go grab these guys," he said of the situation.

This deal likely won't get done until the offseason, and possibly not even until Chapman opts out. With the year he is having, he could decide to test the market to get a deal north of $100 million.

The Giants have the opportunity to be ahead of the curve.