Blue Jays Acquire Matt Chapman From A’s

The Oakland fire sale continues with third baseman Matt Chapman heading to Canada.

The A’s and Blue Jays are in agreement on a trade that will send Chapman to Toronto for a package of Blue Jay prospects including SS/3B Kevin Smith, RHP Gunnar Hoglund, LHP Zach Logue, and LHP Kirby Snead.

MLB Pipeline has Hoglund as the Blue Jays No. 4 prospect, Smith as the No. 9 prospect, and Logue as No. 27.

Chapman, 28, has spent his entire career in Oakland, debuting in 2017. He’s a three-time Gold Glove winner and named an All-Star in 2019. In his lone All-Star season, Chapman finished sixth in AL MVP voting with 36 home runs and 91 RBIs.

Chapman is primarily a power bat and his batting average has steadily decreased every season since 2018. In 2021 he batted just .210/.314/.403 for an OPS of .716 and a perfectly league-average OPS+ of 100.

Oakland finished 86-76 last season, missing the playoffs by just six games. Now they’re trading away or letting the majority of their core go. The Mets have greatly benefitted adding Starling Marte and Mark Canha in free agency as well as trading for Chris Bassitt. Their first baseman Matt Olson was traded to Atlanta too.

The A’s get the prospects they desire. Hoglund was Toronto’s first-round selection in 2021 at 19th overall. He slipped in the draft after undergoing Tommy John surgery last May. His floor is still projected to be a back-of-the-rotation starter.

Smith made his major league debut in 2021, making 18 appearances. In 32 at-bats he had three hits, one of which was a home run. He was originally selected in the fourth round of the 2017 draft.

Logue spent last season between Double and Triple-A. In 17 starts at Triple-A Buffalo, Logue went 9-3 with a 3.32 ERA. His ETA is 2022.

Snead made it to the majors at 27 years old. He pitched in seven games for Toronto, going 0-1 with a 2.35 ERA out of the bullpen.

Oakland might not be done trading players away. Keep a lookout for Frankie Montas and Sean Manaea to be on the move later this week.

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