Mariners Trade Proposal: Matt Chapman to the Mariners

The Mariners have been preparing for the offseason to begin the last week. They paired down their 40 man roster by outrighting Jake Bauers and Shed Long, lost Ljay Newsome to the Cardinals, and removed other players. This has brought their 40 man roster total down to give the Mariners more flexibility to make a move soon after the World Series ends. One of the biggest current holes that the Mariners need to fill is at third base as Kyle Seager is almost certainly not returning.

This is where the Mariners path to trade for Matt Chapman becomes clear.

On October 27, it was widely reported that long-time Oakland Athletics manager Bob Melvin had accepted a 3-year contract with the San Diego Padres. This came as a shock to the baseball community because Melvin had been in Oakland for more than a decade. Melvin leaving the A’s shows that they may not be expecting to contend as they have been.

Several A’s players are getting further into arbitration and will be more expensive, the cheap A’s ownership may not want to pay for all of the current player’s contracts as they grow. Matt Chapman, Matt Olson, Sean Manaea, and others will only make more money in 2022. The A’s may also be trying to force their way into a new stadium as the current Oakland Coliseum is well known as the worst in baseball and maybe in all of professional sports.

These lead to speculation that the A’s may try to trade players to get payroll down to try to get a new stadium and get younger and spend less money. They could trade their great Matt duo of Matt Olson and Matt Chapman to try to find the next A’s unheralded stars.

Mariners Trade Proposal #1 for Matt Chapman

The Mariners in this deal are getting a really good player to play third base for the next two years. Chapman is arbitration-eligible for two more years. He also had monster 2018 and 2019 seasons, posting a WAR above 6, if the Mariners get that level of production that would be an absolute win for the Mariners. Chapman is one of the best defensive third basemen in the game. Seattle would have the best defensive third base and shortstop combination in baseball.

The reason that Oakland would do this deal here is due to the loss of their manager, wanting to get cheaper talent, and the rumblings of retooling their roster. They would get an outfielder who is close to the bigs in Zach DeLoach, he could be in the majors next year at the earliest but 2023 would be his target year. Brandon Williamson gives them a young controllable arm that could be in their rotation next year or the year after. They also get Juan Then, who had a disappointing 2021.

They, however, could turn Then into a reliever and he could potentially be another Edwin Diaz if his stuff ticks up in the bullpen. Then also could be to the big leagues soon as a reliever and is already on the 40 man roster. The A’s get three players who are close to the big leagues who could help them compete more in 3 years. They all would be very cheap and under club control for more than six years each.

Mariners Trade Proposal #3 for Matt Chapman

The Mariners get their third baseman for the near future as they compete in 2022 and beyond. Seattle is going to not give up a package worth the 6 WAR Matt Chapman because he hasn’t been that player for a bit. They would totally hope that he can return to it. Even in 2021, he had a 3.4 WAR and 101 wRC+. He was at the worst league average which would help the Mariners greatly, and even more, if Chapman returns to greater form.

They also get reliever Deolis Guerra who has a few more years of team control and has parts of seasons with the Pirates, Angels, and A’s. Guerra is 32 and the Mariners have had great success with getting the most out of pitchers especially. Guerra doesn’t have a dominant fastball but does a good job of limiting hard contact.

The Athletics here would get a plug-and-play replacement for Chapman in Abraham Toro. It would hurt to part with Toro, but for Chapman, it would surely be worth it. The A’s also get position player prospects Taylor Trammell and Kaden Polcovich since the A’s have a pretty poor farm system now. Trammell just needs time to keep playing and get better. They also get Juan Then who could be a starter for them or potentially be a flame-throwing reliever if they choose that path for him.

The Mariners should definitely be interested in trading for the A’s third baseman Matt Chapman. He would give the Mariners a veteran third baseman to build around. His defense would be a sight to see next to J.P. Crawford. The Mariners would also offer him a change of scenery by getting out of Oakland. Chapman could be an under-the-radar candidate if they can get him to return to his early-career form at the plate. The Mariners would be smart to extend Chapman if he gets better.