Seattle Mariners Possible Free Agent Target Comes Off Board Early
One of the possible off-season targets for the Seattle Mariners just came off the board, as third baseman Matt Chapman signed a contract extension Wednesday night with the San Francisco Giants.
Per Jeff Passan of ESPN on social media:
BREAKING: Third baseman Matt Chapman and the San Francisco Giants are in agreement on a six-year, $151 million contract extension, sources tell ESPN. It wipes out the final two years of his current deal and keeps Chapman from opting out.
BREAKING: Third baseman Matt Chapman and the San Francisco Giants are in agreement on a six-year, $151 million contract extension, sources tell ESPN. It wipes out the final two years of his current deal and keeps Chapman from opting out.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) September 5, 2024
Given the Mariners issues at third base with Josh Rojas, Dylan Moore and Luis Urias, Chapman's name would have come up this off-season, similar to how it came up last off-season. However, there are real doubts that the M's would have come close to approaching this kind of money for an aging, 31-year-old player.
Despite his age, Chapman is having a very good season with the Giants. He's hitting .247 with 22 homers and 69 RBI. He's posted a .778 OPS and a 121 OPS+.
Lifetime, he's a .241 hitter with 177 homers. In the eighth year of his career, Chapman has played for the Oakland Athletics and Toronto Blue Jays, in addition to San Francisco. He is a one-time All-Star, a four-time Gold Glover and a two-time Platinum Glove winner.
The Mariners will have major decisions to make at third base this offseason. Rojas would be owed about $5 million in arbitration and could be non-tendered while Urias could be owed more than $6 million and could face the same fate.
The Mariners will have to make decisions on whether or not to tender contracts in mid-November.
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