Chapman gets raise as A’s avoid arbitration

Third baseman Matt Chapman received a serious salary bump as one of six players with whom the A’s agreed to oneyear deals Friday to avoid arbitration.

Chapman, the twotime Platinum Glove winner, and the A’s settled on a $6.49 million deal for 2021, according to multiple reports.

That is more than 10 times the salary Chapman was due in 2020 ($623,500, according to Cot’s Baseball Contracts) before proration due to the abbreviated season. Chapman, 27, was arbitrationeligible for the first time this offseason.

The A’s also agreed to oneyear deals for 2021 with outfielder Mark Canha, starting pitchers Sean Manaea, Chris Bassitt and Frankie Montas and reliever Lou Trivino. According to reports from USA Today and FanSided,

the A’s settled with Canha for $6.925 million, Bassitt for $4.9 million, Manaea for $5.95 million and Montas for $1.8 million. Trivino and the A’s settled for $912,500 plus awards, according to MLB Network.

Friday saw a wave of deals as the deadline arrived for teams and players to exchange salary figures for potential arbitration hearings. The A’s avoided any hearings for a second consecutive year.

Chapman figured to receive a big raise, having finished in the top 10 in MVP voting in 2018 and 2019. There was at least some uncertainty as Chapman’s numbers dipped last year prior to his having seasonending hip surgery in early September. Still, his deal far exceeded the projected range from MLB Trade Rumors, which forecast a figure between $2.9 million and $4.3 million.

First baseman Matt Olson, another Gold Glove player who was arbitrationeligible for the first time, agreed to a $5 million deal for 2021 with Oakland last month.

Bassitt will earn more than double his original 2020 salary ($2.25 million) after a strong season. The righthander finished 52 with a 2.29 ERA and was eighth in American League Cy Young voting after entering the season as a projected reliever. He had the best outing of an A’s starter in the playoffs, allowing one run in seven innings of Game 2 of the wildcard round against Chicago.

Canha, in his last year of arbitration eligibility, received a salary increase from $4.8 million in 2020. Canha, the Cal product who led the A’s in OPS (.913) in 2019, will be eligible for free agency after the 2021 season, as will designated hitter Khris Davis and reliever Jake Diekman.