The San Francisco Giants made a couple of signings this past offseason that got off to a bad start, but have turned out to be pretty good once they settled in.
As Tim Britton of The Athletic searched for which Giants player has been the team’s MVP this year, one of those new players was his selection.
Matt Chapman has been red-hot for the past few months and has become a key cog in the future for San Francisco.
“Chapman is delivering his best all-around season since maybe 2019 with the Oakland Athletics, when he finished sixth in the MVP balloting. He’s as terrific as ever at the hot corner, and his offense has rebounded after flat-lining in the final five months of the 2023 season with the Toronto Blue Jays. That’s star-level performance for a franchise that had struck out hunting it on the open market in recent years,” said Britton.
The Giants made their opinion of the third baseman known when they signed him to a massive six-year, $151 million extension that kicks in next season.
He was set to have a player option that would allow him to head back into free agency once this year came to an end if he chose to do so.
He was very much expected to take that option based on how he played, likely ending his time in San Francisco early.
Instead, the two parties will continue their partnership for years to come.
It was a major move that not only secured someone in the hot corner, but showed that the team is committed to contending. They hadn’t been able to land many high-profile players over the past few years, but were able to add one of the best third basemen in the league this past winter.
Chapman has been so good as of late that the extension certainly feels justified.
If someone who just watched the first stretch of the season was told about the deal, though, they’d be shocked. It seemed like a foregone conclusion he’d either walk in free agency or be traded at the deadline based on how the team was performing.
As late into the season as the middle of June, he was putting up just a .227/.307/.379 slash line.
He was striking out at lot and not getting on base at the same level of success. He was even playing worse in the field, where he normally excels.
In the 68 games since, he’s put up a .278/.365/.532 slashing line with 15 home runs and 42 RBI and has led the team to an above .500 record over that stretch.
The 31-year-old has certainly been the Giants’ MVP and will look to stay a huge part of the team through 2030.
