Matt Chapman’s Contribution to the Blue Jays Defense

Third baseman Matt Chapman is now part of the Toronto Blue Jays family. A family stacked with lots of talent and Chapman’s addition bolsters the Blue Jays infield defense.

The 28-year-old is a three-time Gold Glove winner, two-time platinum glove winner and was named to the American League All-Star team in 2019. Chapman has spent all five seasons in Oakland with the Athletics. He is arguably the best defensive third baseman in the game, with only former high-school teammate Nolan Arenado being the other third baseman that can give Chapman a run for his money in regards to defensive ability. The vital question is this: how can Matt Chapman’s defense help the Blue Jays infield?

Since 2017, he has been third on the list of Major League Baseball players in defensive runs saved with 78, behind only Mookie Betts and Andrelton Simmons. Whatever is working for Chapman must be gold because he is fabulous at the position. Blue Jays pitchers will love having Chapman out there. His fielding ability makes the pitcher’s life easier and makes his other infield teammates, Bo Bichette and Vlad Jr, better as a result. Bichette is another solid infield defender, and we might see some future gold gloves for him as well.

Matt Chapman is a solid pickup for the Toronto Blue Jays and will do wonders for the club’s infield and overall defensive ability.

Blue Jays fans hope to see a Josh Donaldson 2.0 from Matt Chapman in the batter’s box. That’s asking for too much. We understand that. As much as we praise his defense, I think his offense will improve with the Blue Jays. Chapman hit 27 home runs last season, however, he struck out 202 times and batted .210, which both are the worst of his career. There’s room for improvement, and I think that the Blue Jays have a good player development staff to help him hit the ball better this year and next. Therefore, Chapman could fix those flaws and thrive with the Jays and hopefully bounce back from what was obviously a down year.

I don’t think people realize how solid this move is for Toronto. Chapman is one of the top defensive infielders in the game and solidifies this infield as one of the best in baseball.