Blue Jays made the right decision trading for Matt Chapman

The Toronto Blue Jays acquired Matt Chapman from the Athletics in exchange for a pretty large prospect package. That package included Gunnar Hoglund who was the highest-ranked pitching prospect in the Jays system and three other prospects including Kevin Smith, formerly the ninth-ranked prospect in the Jays system according to mlb.com.

Chapman did not come cheap but he fits this team perfectly. While he did struggle at the plate last year, he still hit 27 home runs last season with an OPS+ of 100. The Jays lineup is already loaded so they don’t necessarily need him to be the 130 WRC+ hitter he was a couple of seasons ago, he just has to be average. And I have the feeling that in the American League East, we can expect Chapman to hit something between 30-40 home runs even if he doesn’t have a very high batting average.

Chapman’s real value is with his glove. He’s won three Gold Gloves and two Platinum Gloves in his first five seasons. He’s established himself as one of, if not the best third baseman defensively in the game.

Losing prospect capital stinks, especially prospects with a lot of potential like Hoglund, but that’s what you have to do when you are trying to acquire a great player like Matt Chapman.

While Chapman did not come at a cheap cost, the Blue Jays made the right decision acquiring him instead of signing Freddie Freeman.

Freddie Freeman would not have been a bad signing, no player of his calibre is a bad signing. The California product is consistently in the MVP conversation and is one of the best first basemen in the game. However, the Jays already have a solid first baseman in Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Vladdy came up through the Jays system as a third baseman but made the switch to first base seamlessly.

After the season he just had at the plate, I don’t think it made much sense to have him change positions. If the Jays had signed Freeman, Vladdy would’ve either played third base or served as the primary DH while splitting time with Freeman at first. The sample size was small, but Vladdy seemed to be way more comfortable offensively at first base (170 WRC+ in 577 plate appearances) than he was as the DH (146 WRC+ in 120 plate appearances).

Freeman would’ve been nice, as he is a left-handed bat and a proven winner after taking home the World Series with the Braves, but I think Chapman will make a very big impact while making a lot less money. The third baseman has a ton of power and provides elite defense and has two of what should be his prime years as he enters his age 29 season coming up in Toronto.

If the Jays did end up signing Freeman, they would’ve either had to put Vladdy in a spot where he is clearly not as comfortable or play Santiago Espinal every day. I think he works much better splitting time with Cavan Biggio at second base, while Guerrero Jr. gets to play in his natural position of first base.

Furthermore, the Jays will have to lock up guys like Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, and Teoscar Hernandez in the near future, so avoiding a big Freeman contract helps that out a lot.

Freeman wouldn’t have been a bad signing, but I think Chapman fits this team much better and comes at a cheaper financial cost. The Blue Jays made the right decision acquiring him over signing Freeman even while losing prospect capital.