Based on the types of players the Chicago Cubs have pursued in free agency, this Toronto third baseman might be the right fit.
With Jeimer Candelario now off the market — the result of his three-year, $45 million contract — the Chicago Cubs will continue to look for a long-term answer at third base.
The Cubs may not have the right answer on the roster right now. Four players have the ability to play at third base — Nick Madrigal, Patrick Wisdom, Christopher Morel and Miles Mastrobuoni. Wisdom and Morel have the offensive ability to play the position, but their defensive fit is unclear.
The Cubs are also intent on working Morel at first base to see if he’s a better fit at that corner, a position where his power bat would be a good fit.
Now that the Los Angeles Dodgers have agreed to a deal with Shohei Ohtani, a potential Cubs target, they can move on to other options, including an answer at third base.
Matt Chapman — last of the Toronto Blue Jays — remains an option. In fact, as The Athletic pointed out recently, Chapman fits the types of free agents the Cubs have pursued in recent years:
Gold Glove third baseman Matt Chapman is the type of two-way player the Cubs have favored during this cycle of signing Seiya Suzuki and Dansby Swanson and reaching contract extensions with Nico Hoerner and Ian Happ.
What does that mean? It means Chapman has the offense and the defense to be the everyday answer at the position.
In 2023 the 30-year-old slashed .240/.330/.424/755 with 17 home runs and 54 RBI while playing 140 games. That .240 batting average matches up with his .240 career batting average for his seven-year career.
He hasn’t matched the 36 home runs he posted with the Oakland Athletics in 2019, which was his only All-Star season and led to him finishing sixth in American League MVP voting. But, he’s hit 27 home runs twice — in 2021 with Oakland and in 2022 with Toronto — along with a 24-homer season in 2018 with the Athletics. Those power numbers might go up in Wrigley Field.
He also brings a quality glove to the hot corner, where he is a three-time AL Gold Glove winner and has 92 defensive runs saved for his career.
If the Cubs sign Chapman, it solidifies their third base defense, injects power into the offense and allows the Cubs the flexibility to move Madrigal around the diamond and to keep Morel in either a DH-heavy role or a primary first base role, if he takes to the position.
Chapman would fit in well with Swanson, Hoerner and Happ, all of whom have won Gold Gloves and would solidify the Cubs’ infield for 2024 and beyond
The Cubs, like the rest of MLB, can move on now that Ohtani is spoken for. Only time will tell if the Cubs are in pursuit.
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