DUNEDIN, Fla. – Weary from a hectic couple of days but energized by the new opportunity before him, Matt Chapman joined his new Toronto Blue Jays teammates early Friday morning and began acclimating to his new surroundings.
Having been welcomed by George Springer and Bo Bichette, among others, prior to his arrival while also getting the lowdown from Marcus Semien, the star third baseman quickly embraced his new home.
He marvelled at the surroundings of the Player Development Complex, heaped praise on his new teammates and worked to wrap his mind around a December-style transition during the first week of spring training.
“It is crazy,” he said during an engaging early-morning conversation with media. “It’s been a weird off-season for baseball, a weird couple of years for the world. We’re all used to different situations now. But after the lockout, I knew things would happen fast. I’m sure teams were kind of preparing themselves for this moment. I packed light knowing that anything could happen. Me and my wife prepared as good as we could be shipped out or whatever it was. Just extremely excited for this new opportunity. When you sign up for baseball, you know anything can happen.”
Plenty has already for the Oakland Athletics, who are engaged in the latest teardown of their perennial build-then-break cycle. The trades earlier this week of starter Chris Bassitt and first baseman Matt Olson preceded Chapman’s departure, after each of them helped the A’s reach the post-season in each of 2018, 2019 and 2020.
Chapman said he understood in advance that’s how his career was likely to end in Oakland and that, “until they get a new stadium, that’s kind of how it’s going to be over there.” Two years away from free agency, he began preparing himself for the inevitable, joking about packing light for A’s camp in Arizona. When told it was the Blue Jays, “I was excited,” he said. “An end in Oakland and a new beginning in Toronto.”
“It feels great,” Chapman added later. “At the end there in Oakland, a lot of guys were starting to question what kind of direction it was going. Coming here, the direction is clear. It’s want to win a World Series and do whatever they can to make that happen.”
The 28-year-old is, of course, a key addition in the Blue Jays’ pursuit of happiness.
An impact offensive player coming off two down seasons at the plate tied to hip surgery in September 2020, he’s also among the most dynamic defenders at the game and if not its best third baseman, then right there alongside Nolan Arenado and Manny Machado on a very shortlist.
On-base skills and power aside, his impact on the left side of the infield and shortstop Bo Bichette will be pronounced. Chapman’s ability to play the hot corner from the outfield’s lip “changes everything,” said third base and infield coach Luis Rivera. “He covers a lot of ground playing deep, but also, when you hit a slow roller, he’s like a cat, man. He’s all over the ball.”
Rivera has been a fan since first seeing him in 2017. During a May 2018 series in Toronto, the former infielder recalls telling Chapman that “he was going to win a Gold Glove and then he made an error that day. The next time I saw him (during a June series in Oakland), I said again, ‘You’re going to win a Gold Glove,’ and he made another error. He said, ‘Do you still believe I’m going to win Gold Glove? Every time you say that, I make an error. Please don’t tell me that I’m going to win a Gold Glove anymore.’”
Chapman won his first of three Gold Gloves later that year and now that he’s with the Blue Jays, they’ll have far more flexibility with their infield positioning. Last year, their third basemen had a cumulative Outs Above Average of minus-3 on balls to their left, which put extra pressure on Bichette to cheat right. Chapman’s OAA to his left was plus-5.
“That’s something that we’re thinking about because last year we pushed Bo a little more toward the (5-6) hole based on that and based on feeling that he was better to his left,” said Rivera. “This year, he’s going to play more straight short knowing that this guy can take a lot of balls. And (Champman) already told me, ‘If you feel like I need to help any of the kids that are here, I’m here for them.’ That’s great.”
A normal off-season of strength training, squatting and running – things he couldn’t do while rehabilitating from his surgery before last year and limited him in 2021 – has given Chapman “a better base in the batter’s box and confidence that, OK, I’m strong now. I don’t need to try to create power or try to go get the baseball. I can let it come to me and I’m strong enough.”
Similarly, he can also really get into his back hip while loading up for his swing again, and that feeling of health should pay dividends defensively, too. To compensate for some of the lost strength in his hip, Chapman created momentum with his feet and athleticism to help make plays, but “I wasn’t back to 100 per cent of the defensive player that I can be.”
“This year you’re going to see a more athletic, well-rounded version of myself,” he added.
The Blue Jays are counting on that, which is why they rescued him from the Athletics, whose three-year post-season streak came to an end last season in part thanks to a three-game sweep suffered in Toronto last Sept. 3-5. A Lourdes Gurriel Jr., grand slam in the eighth inning ahead of a Marcus Semien walk-off three-run homer in the ninth helped the Blue Jays erase an 8-2 deficit in the opener.
“I just remember how good these guys are watching them hit and just like, ‘Wow, man, these guys take great at bats. They’re tough outs. All of them. Their pitching staff is really great,’” said Chapman. “It was fun to fun to play against them, but I think it’s going to be even more fun to play with them.”
