Giants Need Better Version of Matt Chapman in 2027
· Yahoo Sports
The San Francisco Giants' 2026 season got off the rails quickly, and it culminated in a 65-97 finish and a fifth straight season in which they missed the playoffs.
The season concluded with president of baseball operations Buster Posey holding a press conference in which he spoke platitudes about how the team needs to improve, the disappointing nature of the season, and so on.
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The Giants will be making changes, but for those who will likely remain in the building, there also needs to be improvement. Third baseman Matt Chapman is among those who need to have a better year in 2027 for the Giants to improve.
Chapman’s disappointing season with GiantsThe first issue with Chapman's 2026 campaign is that it did not last long at all.
Chapman, 33, played his final game of the season on June 30. On July 1, he was placed on the 10-day Injured List for an abdominal strain, and by Aug. 13, he was transferred to the 60-day IL.
Before getting hurt, Chapman did not necessarily post inspiring numbers. Across 84 games and 307 at-bats, Chapman logged a .235 batting average, a .324 on-base percentage, a .368 slugging percentage and a .692 OPS with seven home runs.
Chapman's .692 OPS was the lowest mark of his career and was below the Major League Baseball average of .719. Chapman's injury was not his fault, but he needs to be better at the plate for San Francisco, especially since he has proven to be good in the past.
As a defender, the former two-time Platinum Glove Award winner and five-time Gold Glove Award winner was also not at his best. He appeared in 83 games at third base, and he logged a .962 fielding percentage and committed nine errors.
On March 2, 2024, the Giants committed to Chapman for the long haul, signing him to a six-year, $151 million deal. In 2026, his payroll number was $25.1 million, and it will remain that way over the life of the contract until he becomes an unrestricted free agent in 2031, at which point he will be 38 years old.
Chapman has illustrated that he can be a great player, but the version that the Giants got of him in 2026 is not sustainable. At his age, Chapman's injury concerns also become more prevalent.
San Francisco cannot afford to pay Chapman and not receive the proper type of output. Hopefully, in 2027, Chapman will have a healthier campaign and become more productive for a group that desperately needs that from him.