Matt Chapman Giants contract details prove Mariners missed out

Over the last week or so, Mariners fans were starting to convince themselves that Matt Chapman was going to end up on the Mariners. Between national reporters mentioning that the Mariners were involved, to Ryan Divish talking about it a bit, to fans themselves convincing themselves that he was going to come here because of some bad news about the slated third baseman in Luis Urias.

It's always hard to believe that the Mariners are going to sign a big-name free agent. Things felt a little different this offseason as they signed Mitch Garver to a deal, and then cleared out some money and were sitting, at least it looked like it, with somewhere around $15M or so to spend based on what we had heard about trying to meet or even exceed the 2023 salary by a little bit.

Matt Chapman signed with the Giants and the Mariners missed out

Matt Chapman was originally rumored to be looking for a 6YR deal with 20-25M AAV. It was something that the Mariners have only done a few times in history for a free agent, and just wasn't something they were going to for a hitter in his 30s. However, as the offseason went on, his price seemed to be getting lower, as did the years on his deal.

Then, Bellinger signed a team friendly deal with the Cubs, and it seemed like something that the Mariners could try and do as well. It was a lower AAV than expected, and had outs that made it nice for both player and team, but seemed to be better for the team. The Mariners could try and do something like that with Chapman, and it honestly seemed like an option that may happen.

Then, news broke that Matt Chapman was signing a 3YR/$54M deal with the San Francisco Giants. Oddly enough, that's where another fan hopeful-signing in Jorge Soler went. With opt-outs after each year, this was definitely a friendly deal for both parties. Chapman struggles a bit, and you have a great defensive third baseman still. He dominates, and you just saved a lot of money on an elite player.

There's the problem. This is something that the Mariners definitely could've done, and it would've been a short enough deal that it wouldn't have hindered them signing any of their youth to extensions down the line. Cal, Logan, and George are all 3-5 years out from having to sign extensions.

Sign Chapman to this exact deal. You shore up your defense a bunch, locking down third. Urias and Rojas become your UTIL, giving you great depth to your bench and really lengthening out your lineup with extra coverage for injury. Maybe the Mariners are waiting to make a move at the deadline and are saving their money for that. Maybe it is extensions for the youth that they are saving money for. Or, maybe Stanton is just a cheapskate.

For once, it would've been nice to see the Mariners take control of their destiny with gusto instead of wire and duct taping their way to contention. Matt Chapman could've done just that, at least on this contract, and the Mariners look to have missed out on a great opportunity.