It looks like the Blue Jays have traded for Matt Chapman

It’s taken a little while, but here’s the big move for a position player that we’ve been hearing about.

Late last night, Carlos Baerga reported on Instagram that the Blue Jays were trading for Matt Chapman of the Oakland Athletics. Given the fact Baerga also said that Toronto would be signing Freddie Freeman in free agency, it was difficult to tell how legitimate this report was.

But then on Wednesday morning, Jon Morosi reported that the Blue Jays and the A’s were finalizing a Chapman deal. We don’t yet know the return, but Morosi said that the Blue Jays are “not giving up players from their projected Opening Day roster.”

The #BlueJays are finalizing a trade for 2-time Platinum Glove-winning 3B Matt Chapman, source confirms. Carlos Baerga was the first to report. @MLBNetwork @FAN590 @Sportsnet

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) March 16, 2022

Chapman is an interesting addition for the Blue Jays. He fills the hole the team has at third base, as he’s a plus defender who has won three gold gloves at the hot corner, but he’s also another right-handed bat in an already right-heavy lineup.

He’s also coming off a somewhat rough season at the plate, as his .210/.314/.403 slash line produced a .716 OPS, the worst of his big league career. Despite the ho-hum season offensively, Chapman was still worth 3.5 WAR last season (per FanGraphs) largely because of his excellent glove.

Also, it’s important to note that Oakland is an awful place for hitters, and Chapman still managed to mash 27 dingers in what was a down year offensively. It’s safe to assume that his home run total could explode when hitting at The Dome.

He might not be Freeman or Jose Ramirez, but the last time the Blue Jays traded for an Oakland third baseman coming off a down year, things turned out pretty well!

Matt Chapman at Rogers Centre:

57 PA, .368 OBP, .563 SLG, .931 OPS

— VOT6 (@ViewsOnThe6) March 16, 2022

Blue Jays pitchers are going to love this move.3-time gold glover makes it look easy out there.

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Defensive Runs SavedMLB Leaders Since 2017*

1. Mookie Betts 812. Andrelton Simmons 793. Matt Chapman 784. Nolan Arenado 715. Kevin Kiermaier 68

*Chapman's rookie season pic.twitter.com/mI4RQ6X84R

— Chris Black (@DownToBlack) March 16, 2022

Oh hey, look where all of Hyun Jin Ryu's groundballs were last yearhttps://t.co/EVbsPilwY1 pic.twitter.com/MGODCFbB66

— Ben Palmer (@benjpalmer) March 16, 2022

According to our pal BK, Kevin Smith is one of the players headed back to Oakland in the trade…

Hearing Kevin Smith is part of the return going to Oakland

— bk (@_bkuh_) March 16, 2022

Smith had a huge season for the Buffalo Bisons that revitalized his status as a top prospect in 2021 but struggled mightily when he was called up to the big leagues. In 36 plate appearances for the Blue Jays, Smith had three hits, three walks, and 11 strikeouts.

Honestly, the Chapman deal makes me think Schwarber is coming down the pipe. The Jays need a lefty bat.

— Joshua (@JoshuaHowsam) March 16, 2022

This is a good point from Josh Howsam. While Chapman’s bat doesn’t fill the team’s desperate need for a lefty in their right-heavy lineup, they can still go out and sign Kyle Schwarber to do exactly that. Adding Chapman at third would also give the Blue Jays the ability to use Santiago Espinal and Cavan Biggio as a platoon at second base, which is a role that each player could thrive in more so than as an everyday player.