Matt Chapman's New Signing Options, After Bellinger Deal

As noted by MLB insider Ken Rosenthal on Sunday, Chicago Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer is sporting a "smile wider than Lake Michigan" after staring down notorious agent Scott Boras and re-signing last year's Comeback Player of the Year Cody Bellinger for just $80 million over three seasons—over $100 million less then the player and his agent had been asking for at the beginning of this off-season.

So what does this mean for another Boras client, Matt Chapman, you ask? According to Rosenthal, he now could also be looking at a similar shorter-term bridge contract. But the Cubs were one of his prime suitors, could they be off the board now after signing Bellinger? Who's still "in" on the Gold Glove third baseman?

Toronto Blue Jays fans are begging for the team's front office to quickly pounce and bring back their third baseman of the past two seasons.

The Cody Bellinger contract with the Cubs lays the framework for what a #Bluejays deal for Matt Chapman COULD look like 👀

If Chapman was willing to accept something similar for 2 years…

Then the Jays should absolutely be back in 💥 pic.twitter.com/zoO9umPhQY
— Blue Jays Today (@TodayJays) February 25, 2024

Chapman is an all star, 4x gold glove winner, 2x platinum glove winner, has finished at least 7th in MVP voting twice and is 31.2 in WAR (833 all time) and is just 30 years old. His “not bat” last season was a .330 OBP and a 108 OPS+. What is wrong with people. https://t.co/MVc3IFRZHZ
— Blue Jays Bat Boy (@bluejaysbatboy) February 25, 2024

As noted, Chapman is indeed a former All-Star, a four-time Gold Glover and still had an OPS+ of 108 even in a bad year.

The current options for third base currently on the Toronto roster don't inspire a ton of confidence. Justin Turner, of course, is a two-time All-Star with a long career at the position. But his days at the hot corner seem to be over as he enters this season at age 39. He only played seven games there last year for the Boston Red Sox. Then you have Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Santiago Espinal and Craig Biggio as other options.

Yes, the Jays should be back in on Chapman if they can get him on a short-term deal.

The San Francisco Giants have been pursuing Chapman, and this crack in the Boras armour could be the break they're looking for as well. They could use another bat, and their defense at 3B is in questionable hands at the moment, with Wilmer Flores, who only played 22 games there last season, and JD Davis, whose best position on the field is DH.

But others say that the Chicago Cubs aren't necessarily completely out of the mix for Chapman yet. If they can get a similar short-term deal, they might still be in play.

And the Seattle Mariners had been interested earlier in the offseason, and currently are set to platoon Luis Urías and Josh Rojas at third, which Chapman would be an improvement on. But they aren't expected to spend any more big coin before the season starts.

Photo: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports