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Matt Chapman is the lone member of the so-called “Boras Four” — the quartet of top-tier free agents who remained unsigned when spring training began — who has played well enough to merit consideration in the postseason awards voting, not only with respect to a potential fifth Gold Glove but also down-ballot MVP mentions. As I noted last week, from among the group that also included Cody Bellinger, Jordan Montgomery, and Blake Snell, the 31-year-old third baseman was also the one who appeared headed towards a long-term extension with his current team.
Late Wednesday night, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported that Chapman and the Giants had agreed upon a six-year, $151 million extension, one that replaces the final two years of his existing deal, both of which were preceded by player options. The contract ultimately validates Chapman’s decision to turn down what was reported as a six-year, $120 million extension offer from the Blue Jays — with whom Chapman spent 2022-23 — at some point last season. While the Jays pursued Chapman to some extent early in his free agency, the Mariners, Cubs, and Giants were the only other teams publicly connected to him.
Chapman finally agreed to a three-year, $54 million contract on March 2. While it included opt-outs after 2024 and 2025 as well as a mutual option after 2026, it was the only deal from among those of the Boras Four that came in with a lower average annual value than projected by our FanGraphs Top 50 Free Agents list. List wrangler Ben Clemens estimated a five-year, $120 million deal ($24 million AAV), while the median crowdsource one was for four years and $80 million ($20 million AAV). Where Chapman wound up with an $18 million AAV, his new pact raises that to $25.17 million, a figure that ranks fifth among current third basemen:
| Highest Paid Third Basemen by AAV |
|---|
| 1. Nolan Arenado – $32.5 |
| 2. Manny Machado – $30.0 |
| 3. Alex Bregman – $28.35 |
| 4. José Ramírez – $26.71 |
| 5. Matt Chapman – $25.17 |
Chapman will receive a $1 million signing bonus and then annual salaries of $25 million through 2030. His contract does not contain any opt-outs, but it does have a full no-trade clause. Chapman is the rare Boras client — though hardly the only one — to agree to an extension in-season rather than testing free agency. Jose Altuve, Elvis Andrus, Xander Bogaerts, Carlos González and Stephen Strasburg are among the Boras clients who signed such extensions during their walk years, all before becoming first-time free agents; Strasburg and Bogaerts eventually opted out and landed even bigger deals.
Adrian Beltré, another Boras client, went through free agency three times before agreeing to an extension covering his final two years with the Rangers. The point is that contrary to what some may believe, Boras’ strategy isn’t a one-size-fits-all march towards free agency. If a client is happy where he is and can get his desired salary and security, so be it. Chapman’s California ties are a big factor in his staying put. A native of Victorville, he was drafted by the A’s out of Cal State-Fullerton in the first round in 2014 and spent five seasons (2017–21) with Oakland before being traded to Toronto.
In joining the Giants this spring, he reunited with manager Bob Melvin, who piloted the A’s during his entire tenure, and third base coach Matt Williams, who served in the same capacity for Oakland in 2018–19. “This feels like home for me,” he said. “It feels like I’ve been here for a lot longer than one season… I feel really comfortable in the Bay Area, and I just love being here.”
“I think in this case, Matt made it clear to me all along that he had every piece of information we could give him and he knew what he wanted to do,” said Boras. “For me, that’s the most rewarding part. Matt really made a choice, and he’s happy about where he wants to play and who he wants to play for.”
Though he’s been the only member of the Boras Four to avoid the injured list thus far, Chapman did not get off to a flying start with the Giants, hitting just .222/.266/.385 (80 wRC+) in March and April. His early-season troubles may have owed to not having a full spring training to ramp up, but they also created some cause for concern given his 2023 season-ending funk.
