Reports: Chapman lands 3-year, $54M deal with Giants
The San Francisco Giants, who came up short in recent years when bidding for high-end free agents such as Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani, reportedly landed a star late Friday night.
Third baseman Matt Chapman agreed to a three-year, $54 million deal with the Giants, multiple media outlets reported.
The contract reportedly grants Chapman opt-out power following each of the first two seasons — similar to the deal that outfielder Cody Bellinger recently agreed to with the Chicago Cubs. Chapman and Bellinger are both represented by agent Scott Boras.
Chapman is a four-time Gold Glove winner, most recently winning the honor last season with the Toronto Blue Jays.
As for his offense, his numbers last season — .240 batting average, .330 on-base percentage, .424 slugging percentage, 17 homers, 54 RBI in 140 games — are similar to those of the player he figures to displace at third base in San Francisco. J.D. Davis hit .248/.325/.413 with 18 homers and 69 RBI in 144 games.
Chapman, 30, began his major league career with the Oakland A’s from 2017-21. He made his lone All-Star appearance in 2019, when he hit .249/.342/.506 with career highs in homers (36) and RBI (91) over 156 games.
He was traded to the Blue Jays in March 2022.
In 868 career games, Chapman has a .240/ .329/.461 batting line with 155 home runs and 426 RBI.
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Braves: Atlanta star Ronald Acuña Jr. has been diagnosed with irritation
Aaround the meniscus in his right knee and will have the injury evaluated further.
An MRI performed Friday showed the condition. He was removed from the lineup in the spring training game against the Baltimore Orioles on Friday as a precaution because of right knee soreness, the team said.
The reigning National League MVP, Acuña will visit Dr. Neal ElAttrache in Los Angeles on Monday for evaluation, per reports. ElAttrache surgically repaired Acuña’s torn right ACL in July 2021.
Acuña was involved in a rundown in Thursday’s game against the Minnesota Twins, and the knee issue apparently occurred during that play.
Acuña, 26, was the NL Rookie of the Year in 2018 and is a four-time All-Star.
In 2023, Acuña became the first 40-70 player in baseball history with 41 home runs and 73 stolen bases, the latter of which led the major leagues. He also led the majors in hits (217), runs (149), on-base percentage (.416) and total bases (383).
In 673 career games, Acuña is batting .292 with 767 hits, 161 homers, 402 RBIs and 180 stolen bases.
The Braves signed the outfielder to an eight-year, $100 million deal in 2019.
Tigers: Left-hander Tarik Skubal will be on the mound when the Detroit
ATigers open the season on March 28 against the White Sox in Chicago.
The Tigers made the announcement Friday on social media.
Skubal, 27, was limited to 15 games (all starts) last season as he made his way back from a 2022 seasonending elbow injury. He was 7-3 with a 2.80 ERA in 80 1⁄3 innings, striking out 102 batters and walking only 14.
So far this spring, he has thrown 29 pitches over two no-hit innings with two strikeouts and a walk.
The Tigers selected Skubal in the ninth round of the 2018 MLB Draft. With Detroit, he is 23-27 with a 3.87 ERA in 75 games (72 starts).