Blue Jays make major trade for third baseman Matt Chapman

Mar 16 2022, 2:34 pm

The Toronto Blue Jays appear to have made their first big trade of the 2022 season.

According to multiple reports, the Blue Jays have acquired Oakland’s Matt Chapman in a trade in exchange for infielder Kevin Smith, as well as three pitchers: Gunnar Hoglund, Zach Logue, and Kirby Snead.

Update: Toronto has officially confirmed the trade.

Hoglund was Toronto’s No. 4 prospect in 2021, Smith No. 9, and Logue No. 27, per MLB Pipeline, the league’s official prospect resource.

Chapman had a batting average of .210 with 111 hits, 27 home runs, 72 RBIs, and 75 runs scored in 151 games in 2021. Chapman’s best season came in 2019, where he finished sixth in AL MVP voting while making the All-Star game for the first time in his career.

Chapman finished seventh in MVP voting in 2016. He has spent his entire five-year career in Oakland, and has won Gold Glove for the league’s best defensive third baseman in three of them.

One anonymous Yankee told reporter Mark Feinsand that the Jays aren’t “messing around.”

The move is eerily similar to the Jays’ 2016 acquisition of third baseman Josh Donaldson from Oakland, who finished top ten in MVP voting for two consecutive seasons before being shipped to Toronto for a package of prospects.

The Blue Jays kick off their season on April 8 against the Texas Rangers.

Adam LaskarisAdam Laskaris

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