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At the plate, third baseman Matt Chapman was a disappointment last year for the Blue Jays, batting .240 with just 17 home runs and 54 RBIs. In the field, he did win another Gold Glove and, defensively, he has not missed a beat. But off the field this winter, Chapman has also disappointed, still sitting in free agency even as March is now upon us. Consider that an opportunity for the Chicago Cubs.
As of now, the Cubs are pushing toward having 24-year-old utility man Christopher Morel work at third base, after he spent the bulk of last season working as a designated hitter. There’s no doubt that Morel’s bat will find its way into the Cubs’ order, but asking him to log a whole season as the third baseman is a big request. Nick Madrigal figures to break camp at the position.
The Cubs need someone who can man the position with some competence. Chapman more than qualifies.
New York Post baseball insider Jon Heyman says the Cubs are one of four teams around MLB who could bring in Chapman. “I think even the Cubs,” Heyman said in a video chat. “Right now they’re looking at Morel over there. Certainly, if they got Chapman and combined him with Dansby Swanson, that is a fantastic left side of the infield.”
Matt Chapman a Seamless Fit for the Cubs
Chapman is a Scott Boras client who, like so many other Boras clients, has been unable to get the bulging new contract he was expecting when free agency began. Heyman, in fact, reported that Chapman was seeking a deal in the $150 million range. That never materialized.
Just as Cubs slugger Cody Bellinger (another Boras free agent) was worn down over the last few weeks and eventually agreed to a team-friendly, three-year, $80 million contract with two opt-outs, maybe Chapman is ready to surrender and find a team even on a relative bargain deal.
At Bleacher Report, they’re predicting that Chapman winds up landing somewhere on the same kind of contract as Bellinger—three years, $60 million with two options.
“This is the worst-case scenario, of course,” B/R’s Zachary D. Rymer wrote this week. “It’s more reasonable to expect Boras to do for Chapman what he did for Bellinger: try for a smaller multiyear deal with a respectable guarantee and opt-outs galore.”
Top Prospect Being Prepped for 3B Role
The Cubs’ willingness to go for a deal like that would depend on two factors.
The first is whether they think Morel can truly hold down the fort at third base. The hope is he would only have to do it for a year or so, as the team has long-term plans for prospect Matt Shaw to be the answer at third base. It’s just a matter of how long it takes for Shaw to get MLB-ready.
Morel is not a third baseman, but the team is hopeful he can learn the ropes.
As manager Craig Counsell said, per MLB.com, “To say he can play a lot of positions, yes. We have to play them at a certain level that it makes sense for the bat to be in there, right? And it is harder to play multiple positions – no question about it. At this point, with players around Chris, we’ve asked him to move around. So, I think my idea at the start of camp is to kind of focus mainly on third base.”
The other factor is how serious the team is taking its playoff chances in 2024 after narrowly missing out in 2023. If the goal is truly to win, adding Chapman’s glove pushes them a lot farther along.
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