San Francisco Giants Signing of Matt Chapman Receives Stellar Re-Grade

Matt Chapman was one of the few bright spots for the San Francisco Giants in 2024.

Sep 28, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants infielder Matt Chapman (26) reacts after scoring a run against the St. Louis Cardinals during the fourth inning at Oracle Park. / Robert Edwards-Imagn Images

The San Francisco Giants were very aggressive last season upgrading the roster. Unfortunately, most of those additions did not pan out; that is why Farhan Zaidi is now unemployed and has since been replaced by Buster Posey as the team’s president of baseball operations.

But, one of the moves that he did make which paid major dividends was the signing of third baseman Matt Chapman.

The two sides agreed to a three-year, $54 million deal originally that paid him $18 million this year. Player options were available for 2025 and 2026 while a mutual option was in place for 2027.

Those were erased as the two sides hammered out a long-term deal at the beginning of September. The new extension was a six-year, $151 million deal, which he earned with stellar play throughout the 2024 season.

Chapman recorded a .247/.328/.463 slash line as arguably the most productive Giant at the plate this year. He hit 27 home runs and knocked in 78 runs as a consistent presence in the middle of their lineup.

For good measure, he also swiped a career-high 15 bases.

In the field, he remains as good as ever. There isn’t a person who plays the hot corner better than him, as his defensive production alone makes him a multi-WAR player. Add in the hot bat and he was one of the most productive players in baseball.

The only player who had a higher WAR than Chapman during the 2024 campaign in the National League was Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers with a 9.2. 

The San Francisco star had a 7.1, just ahead of New York Mets superstar shortstop Francisco Lindor, who is the presumed MVP runner-up in the NL.

Given the overall production he provided, it should be no surprise that in the free agency re-grading done by Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report, the Chapman move received an A+.

“I'm not even confident he'll land in the top 10 when we find out the results in mid-November, since so much of his value comes on defense and since San Francisco couldn't even cobble together a .500 record while he flirted with becoming the first Giant to hit 30 home runs in a season since Barry Bonds last did so in 2004.

However, save for Shohei Ohtani with the Dodgers, Seth Lugo with the Royals and I suppose Jurickson Profar with the Padres when you consider he only cost them $2.5M even with all incentives included, Chapman was the best free-agent acquisition from last winter.”

It took a few months longer than anticipated, but Chapman eventually received his long-term deal. Both sides have to be ecstatic about how things worked out, as he is now a long-term building block for the franchise.