San Francisco Giants Signing Massive Extension Will Impact Free Agency

The San Francisco Giants signing Matt Chapman to an extension will have an impact on free agency this winter.

Sep 5, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants third base Matt Chapman (26) warms up at the on-deck circle during the first inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Oracle Park. / Stan Szeto-Imagn Images

The San Francisco Giants made a big splash this week, as they signed third baseman Matt Chapman to a massive extension. 

Chapman was one of the best signings in the offseason in all of baseball, as the Giants got him for a bargain looking at what his production has been this season. The one-year deal signed by Chapman this past offseason had a couple of options with it, and it became clear that he was going to test free agency again. 

Instead of risking Chapman leaving, the Giants got aggressive and gave him a massive extension for the next six years, which is worth $151 million. 

San Francisco has been trying to lure some of the recent big free agents to town in recent years, as they were heavily interested in both Aaron Judge and Shohei Otani. However, neither panned out for the Giants, as improving their offense has been a priority. 

This season, Chapman has totaled a .247 batting average, 22 home runs, 69 RBIs, and 33 doubles. At 31-years-old, it is one of the best seasons that Chapman has had the last few seasons, as his numbers rival when he was a All-Star with the Oakland Athletics. 

According to baseball reference, Chapman has a WAR this season of 6.0 overall, with a oWAR of 4.7 and a dWAR of 1.7. The statistics show that Chapman is not only a good hitter, but a good fielder as well, which is something often times overlooked. 

Now that Chapman has signed an extension to stay with San Francisco, it will have an impact on the free agent market this winter. Since he was projected to opt out and become a free agent, that is one less big name out there in free agency. 

While Chapman would have been sought-after, it will still be Juan Soto who dominates the conversation for hitters in free agency this offseason. Soto is set to sign a record deal, and it’ll be very interesting to see how that transpires. 

Now that Chapman is staying with the Giants long-term, we will have to wait and see what’s next for pitcher Blake Snell. Like Chapman was, Snell is expected to opt out this offseason as well. 

Snell has been pitching magnificently the last few months and is looking like the Cy Young he was in 2023. Since the Giants prioritized signing Chapman long-term, we will have to see if they try to work out a deal for Snell next.