Blue Jays: Could The Jays Try And Steal Another A’s Third Baseman

Trading for Josh Donaldson was one of the most important moves in franchise history, could the Blue Jays acquire another A’s All Star?

Six years ago, former Jays General Manager Alex Anthopoulos made the first of a couple of moves that would take his team from a .500 ball club that wasn’t quite good enough to contend, to a legit championship threat.  This move was acquiring Oakland A’s All Star third baseman Josh Donaldson.  Trading for Donaldson turned into one of the best decisions in franchise history as he would go on to win the 2015 AL MVP and help lead the Jays to back to back ALCS appearances.

With their prospect depth and financial flexibility, I think it would be a great idea for the Jays to call up the A’s and see if they can repeat history by trading for another All Star third baseman, to help turn this young promising team into legit contenders.  The player I’m talking about is Matt Chapman.  Chapman is one of the premiere third basemen in all of baseball.  In four seasons with the A’s, he’s won two gold gloves and made an All Star appearance, while leading them to the playoffs in three straight seasons.

Chapman can flat out pick it at third.  Over the course of his career, he’s registered an OAA of 34 according to StatCast and been in the 90th percentile in this category in two of the last three seasons.  Chapman has also saved 81 runs over the past four seasons and he would help provide stability to the left side of the Jays infield.

Along with being an elite defender, Chapman also has great power.  He hit 36 home runs in 2019 and followed this up by hitting 10 this past season in only 37 games.  Chapman has posted an OPS of .851 since 2018 and this should be expected to go up if he is dealt to Toronto.  Oakland is a super tough place to hit and moving from there to the hitter friendly Roger Centre should help his numbers, just like the move helped Donaldson as he went from 29 round trippers and a .798 OPS in his last year in Oakland to 41 bombs and a .939 OPS in his first year in Toronto.

More from Jays Journal

• Blue Jays: Snapping cold streaks at the right time
• Who Should the Blue Jays Extend First: Guerrero, Bichette or Manoah?
• Blue Jays now hold the top Wild Card spot, and yes that’s a good thing
• Blue Jays may have the tools to use a Bullpen Day
• Blue Jays win important first game after Bichette’s late inning heroics

Chapman did have a down year last season but a large part of that was due to a hip injury that caused him to miss almost half the season and affected his play when he was on the field.  He had surgery during the season and the A’s expect him to be fully recovered for spring training so he should be ready to go for next season.

Another reason why Chapman and Donaldson are so similar is team control.  Like Donaldson, Chapman is entering his first year of arbitration, so he has three years of team control left.  These extra years of control are huge as most of the names the Jays are linked to via trade are rentals and can walk after one season, such as Lindor, Bryant or even Arenado who has an opt out after this year.  The Jays are not one player away from being World Series contenders, so if they acquire anyone it would be helpful to have them locked up for multiple years so they can build around them and have them become part of their core.

If you’re looking for a potential trade package for Chapman, the Donaldson package could be a pretty good estimate as to what the Jays would have to give up to get him.  Back in 2014 the Jays gave up 3B Brett Lawrie, SP Kendall Graveman, SP Sean Nolin and SS Franklin Barreto.  Now Chapman is a more accomplished player than Donaldson was when we acquired him as he’s won two Platinum Gloves and has two seasons with a WAR above 8, so we’re going to have to give up a little more to get him.

I think that Jordan Groshans would have to be in the package as the A’s are going to want a high end prospect in return and Groshans gives them that and he can also take over for Chapman at third some day.

Because Groshans ceiling is a lot higher than Lawrie’s was, I think you would only have to give up one pitcher instead of the two they gave up for Donaldson.  Anthony Kay would fit the bill as he is an older prospect and projects as a back end of the rotation starter like Graveman and Nolan did.

Finally I think the Jays would reach into their catching depth and give the A’s Alejandro Kirk, whose value is sky high right now after bursting onto the scene last season.  This would be a hefty package as the Jays would be giving up their third and sixth ranked prospects according to Pipeline but Chapman is an elite player who is controllable and because of this, the asking price is going to be high if Oakland is going to move him.

The Jays are struggling to make traction with any of their free agent targets.  Why not give their old friend, the Oakland A’s a call and see if they can recreate history?