Another one of Scott Boras’ top free clients has caved and taken a short-term deal this offseason.
Third baseman Matt Chapman has agreed to a 3-year, $54 million deal with the San Francisco Giants. The contract includes the option for Chapman to terminate the deal after the first or second year. He is set to earn $20 million in 2024, $18 million in 2025 and $16 million in 2026.
This is far less money than what many were projecting for Chapman, but he is doing something similar to Cody Bellinger — Boras’ other top free agent position player.
Bellinger agreed to a 3-year, $80 million deal with the Cubs last weekend that also includes the option for him to terminate after each year.
The market has not developed to where Boras hoped, which left many of the agent’s top clients unsigned as spring training began across MLB.
Even with Chapman and Bellinger agreeing to deals, Boras’ top pitching clients Jordan Montgomery and Blake Snell remain free agents. If the trends have taught us anything, it might be that they will also end up taking short-term deals.
The Giants made it clear that they badly wanted to improve this offseason. They have added Jung-Hoo Lee, Robbie Ray, Jordan Hicks, Tom Murphy, Jorge Soler and Matt Chapman, while losing Mitch Haniger, Alex Wood, Anthony DeSclafani and Ross Stripling.
