SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Matt Chapman’s bet on himself paid off.
After agreeing to a deal with San Francisco during spring training that allowed him to opt out after one season, the Giants third baseman agreed Wednesday to a $151 million, six-year contract for 2025-30.
“This offseason was a little strange with the free-agent market, but I was willing to bet on myself,” Chapman said during a news conference Thursday. “I believed in myself. I believed that the Giants would see my value as the season went on and what I bring every single day.”
Chapman joined the Giants with a contract guaranteeing $54 million over three seasons. That deal gave him the right to opt out after 2024 and 2025. It included a $2 million signing bonus and a $16 million salary for 2024.
He was along several Boras clients who signed after the start of spring training, a group that included Giants teammate Blake Snell along with Jordan Montgomery and J.D. Martinez.
“The game rewards players like this,” said Scott Boras, Chapman’s agent.
Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said conversations began two-to-three weeks ago. Chapman gets a $1 million signing bonus payable Jan. 15 and salaries of $25 million annually. The deal includes a full no-trade provision.
“We’re a team that’s trying to compete every year,” Zaidi said. “When we have an opportunity to get a great player who’s willing to bet on himself, that’s always an attractive proposition to us. And that’s what Matt did. He bet on himself and he got a very deserving reward today.”
Chapman was scratched from the starting lineup Wednesday, missing just his fourth game this season to work on finalizing the contract.
“Obviously, it was pretty important to get this thing done,” Chapman said. “We got it done, and now chances are I’m not going to be watching very much.”
Chapman was back in the lineup on Thursday, batting cleanup in a 3-2 win over Arizona. Giants manager Bob Melvin, who also managed Chapman in Oakland, said that the 31-year-old has become a clubhouse leader.
“We have some younger guys here that are learning their way and developing right now, and they watch the way he plays the game,” Melvin said. “There’s an expectation of how it needs to be played and he’s setting the example of that and guys have to fall in line.”
An All-Star in 2019, Chapman is hitting .247 and leads the Giants with 22 homers, 69 RBIs, 91 runs and 34 doubles. He is a four-time Gold Glove winner and has a .241 career average with 177 homers and 495 RBIs for Oakland (2017-21), Toronto (2022-23) and the Giants.
A California native, Chapman said he feels comfortable in the Bay Area. He batted back concerns that San Francisco is not an attractive place for free agents, sharing other players have reached out about joining the Giants after news of his new deal.
“I don’t think it’s going to be a hard sell,” Chapman said. “This organization is amazing. They do everything they can for the players. We have a lot of good players. I think that we’re going to continue to build here. I think that people will see that from the outside and I don’t see that ever being an issue.”
Snell, who started Thursday, agreed to a $62 million, two-year deal that also include a right to opt out after this season.
“The biggest and most important thing is when players play well somewhere, you have to really pay attention to it,” Boras said. “And I do. Because we want players to play well in the game and do well.”
Zaidi did not engage when asked about questions surrounding his future with the Giants, who entered 8 1/2 games out of a playoff spot.
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
