What's up with Matt Chapman? Ex-Blue Jays third baseman still unsigned
The Toronto Blue Jays hit the field tomorrow for their first game of spring training, looking to dust off the memories of a tough end to their 2023 season.
While there are a few new faces on the roster, the team is largely similar to the one swept out of the postseason by the Minnesota Twins in last year’s Wild Card round.
One player who isn’t back with the Jays — or anywhere, as of right now — is third baseman Matt Chapman.
During his two seasons with Toronto, he had a .234 batting average with 245 hits, 44 homers, 130 RBIs and 149 runs scored. He was one of three Blue Jays to win the Gold Glove award this past season, in addition to Jose Berrios and Kevin Kiermaier. But as of right now, it doesn’t appear he’ll be back, and it’s not exactly all that clear where he’ll be playing in 2024.
A one-time All-Star (in 2019, while playing with Oakland) and a four-time Gold Glove winner, it doesn’t seem like there’s a lack of contract talks around the 30-year-old, but perhaps things aren’t exactly quite lining up the way he would’ve hoped.
According to MLB.com’s Daniel Kramer, the Seattle Mariners are a team that would only be interested in Chapman should his asking price come down.
Back in November, Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins stated the team was still interested in a multi-year deal with Chapman, but that obviously hasn’t come to fruition.
Currently, Toronto seems to be committed to a bit of a by-committee approach, with Santiago Espinal, Cavan Biggio, and free agent-signing Isiah Kiner-Falefa all set to take turns at the position.
For now, the waiting game will continue throughout spring training to see if any of the MLB’s 30 teams will sign a player many would’ve assumed had inked a contract much earlier into free agency.
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