Chapman reveals Blue Jays didn't show much interest during free agency

The Toronto Blue Jays didn’t seem to be all that eager to re-sign third baseman Matt Chapman this past offseason.

Chapman spent two seasons in Toronto after being acquired early in 2022 in a trade with the Oakland Athletics. The 31-year-old had some inconsistencies at the plate but was very impressive defensively, even taking home his fourth Gold Glove Award in 2023.

Thanks in large part to his great defensive play, Chapman was expected to hit it big in free agency this past offseason on a deal that the Blue Jays were always unlikely to match. However, the offers that Chapman and his camp believed were coming never did, and he ended up finding himself still up for grabs on the market when spring training had begun.

He wound up signing a rather modest three-year, $54 million deal, which was far less than what had been initially expected. Given how long he remained available, many thought the Blue Jays would look to bring him back, but Chapman recently explained that they didn’t show a ton of interest in him.

“I didn’t talk to the Blue Jays a whole lot,” Chapman said. “They kind of had contact with us. I think they had me in mind. But I wasn’t sure how serious they were. I think they had other things that were on their mind before, like [Shohei] Ohtani and some of those things… By the time the Giants came and we had something going, the Blue Jays kind of came in at the end, but it was kind of a little bit too late, unfortunately.”

Matt Chapman says “the Blue Jays kind of came in there at the end” of his free agency but he was already too far down the road with the Giants at that point.

He adds that, “I really enjoyed both of my years with the Blue Jays. I appreciate them giving me the opportunity.” pic.twitter.com/K2fjNGPmQM

— Shi Davidi (@ShiDavidi) July 10, 2024

As Chapman alluded to, the Blue Jays had serious interest in Ohtani and were even believed to be pursuing Juan Soto. Ultimately, they ended up with neither and weren’t able to bring Chapman back, either.

The Blue Jays could certainly use Chapman this season, as they have struggled to a 41-50 record through 91 games. A big part of their struggles have come at the dish, as they have had issues scoring runs all season. That makes the loss of Chapman — who is hitting .241 with 12 home runs and 42 RBIs this season — all the more frustrating.

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