Matt Chapman 'definitely open' to Blue Jays return

Blue Jays third baseman Matt Chapman has said that he's "definitely open" to a return to the Blue Jays. Chapman is one of five players on the club that will be hitting free agency once the World Series ends.

"[The Blue Jays] really care about their players, and there's nothing that they wouldn't do for you. So, I have a lot of respect for everybody in this organization and definitely open to coming back."

via Ethan Diamandas / X

Chapman has spent the past two seasons in Toronto after being dealt to the Blue Jays from Oakland prior to the 2022 season. The deal sent four players to the A's, most notably being Toronto's 2021 first-round pick, right-hander Gunnar Hoglund.

Chapman put together a nice first season in Toronto, hitting .229 with 27 home runs, 76 runs driven in, and 3.5 WAR. His second season with the team wasn't as pretty though. Although his batting average was up eleven points, his power was down, his hitting became less timely, and his defence took a step-back -- finishing with only 17 long balls, 54 runs batted in, and committing 12 errors in the field compared to only five the previous year.

Despite a down year in the field in 2023 compared to his standards, Chapman is very much known for his defence, and he has the hardware to prove it. The Cal State Fullerton product has won three Gold Glove awards, is a 2x Platinum Glove Award winner, 2x Fielding Bible Award winner, and also has a Wilson Defensive Player of the Year award to his name. Chapman will have plenty of suitors in free agency due to his defensive play alone.

Although Chapman didn't have a fantastic year at the plate, either, a look at his advanced statistics suggest he may have been a victim of some bad luck. According to Baseball Savant, Chapman was in the 94th percentile in chase rate, 98th percentile in barrel percentage and average exit velocity, and the 100th percentile in hard hit percentage.

Chapman is 30-years old and will enter free agency as the consensus best third baseman on the market.