Shortly after the MLB lockout ended, the Oakland Athletics embarked on a fire sale. It continued Wednesday with another blockbuster move. Oakland has reached an agreement with the Toronto Blue Jays in a trade that will send All-Star third baseman Matt Chapman north of the border, the teams announced. In return, Oakland is getting a four-player prospect package that includes Gunnar Hoglund, a 2021 first-round pick.
Here’s the full deal (and grades for both teams can be found here):
Toronto acquires
Oakland acquires
- INF Kevin Smith
- RHP Gunnar Hoglund
- LHP Zach Logue
- LHP Kirby Snead
In Chapman, the Blue Jays get one of the best defensive third basemen in baseball with big power upside. He hit .210/.314/.403 (100 OPS+) with 15 doubles, three triples, 27 homers, 72 RBI, 75 runs and 3.5 WAR last season. It was a very disappointing season from an offensive standpoint, but there’s a ton of potential in left in there for the 28-year-old. In 2019, he hit 36 homers and drove home 91 while sporting a 127 OPS+ and a robust 7.7 WAR, the latter of which was good for fourth in AL among position players and helped land Chapman sixth in AL MVP voting.
The three-time Gold Glover obviously slides in as the everyday third baseman for the Blue Jays. Bo Bichette is settled in at shortstop as is Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. at first. It’s possible Cavan Biggio (hits left-handed) and Santiago Espinal (right) platoon at second base now with Chapman in the fray.
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The Blue Jays lost a ton of offensive production from Marcus Semien hit free agency, but George Springer only played in 78 games last season and now the addition of Chapman will be expected to do its part in making up for that as well.
The A’s had already seen several key players depart via free agency, but now the trades are taking the spotlight in the tear down. In the biggest move, they shipped first baseman Matt Olson to the Atlanta Braves, effectively ruling last season’s World Series champions out of the sweepstakes for franchise legend Freddie Freeman. They also traded All-Star starting pitcher Chris Bassitt to the Mets and rumors have circulated on them dealing fellow starters Frankie Montas and Sean Manaea along with outfielder Ramon Laureano.
In light of Anthony Rizzo re-signing with the Yankees and the Blue Jays getting Chapman, the race for Freeman is down to the Rays, Red Sox, Padres and Dodgers, according to Bowden.
