Trading for Matt Chapman a better fit for rising Blue Jays than signing Freddie Freema atlanta braves gold program jersey n

March 16, 2022 By Ryan Fagan 0

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Matt Chapman is not a better ball Marcus Semien Rangers Jerseys player than Freddie Free atlanta braves jersey for dogs man, the free-agent first baseman so many Toronto baseball fans wanted their favorite team to sign.

Chapman, though, is a better fit for the Blue Jays, and the George Springer front office’s trade for the Gold Glove third baseman just might make Toronto the best team in the AL East. 

Here’s the thing: Freeman’s bat would have been a nice addition to an already outstanding lineup, no doubt. But adding Freeman to play first base — that’s where he would have been, rest assured — would have meant that the Jays would have had to move Vlad Guerrero Jr., back ac atlanta braves jersey murphy ross the diamonRobinson Canod to third base.

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And, well, there’s a reason they moved him from third to first after the 2019 season. He wasn’t awful at the hot corner, but he wasn’t great, either, and now it’s been two years since he’s been at third (aside from two innings in 2021). Putting him back there with only a couple of weeks of a shortened spring training seems like a recipe for disaster, doesn’t it? 

Here’s another thing: Guerrero is the team’s best hitter. He’s maybe the best puYasiel Puig re slugger in the majors. His 2021 season was amazing: 48 homers, .311/.401/.601 slash line with a 169 OPS+ and 6.8 bWAR, with a runner-up finish to Shohei Ohtani’s otherworldly season in the AL MVP voting. And he did this all in his Age 22 season.

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Why in the world would the Jays mess with what was clearly a successful combo — Vlad and first base — heading into such an important season? By trading for Chapman, Vlad stays at first base. That’s a win for the team.

And instead of making the defense at third base a liability, atlanta braves dale murphy jersey adding Chapman makes hot-corner defense maybe the biggest strength of the team, and that’s really saying something because the Jays have a lot of areas of strength. 

And, yeah, it’s true that Chapman has often struggled at the plate the past two seasons. The power is still there — 10 homers in 37 games in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season and 27 in 151 games last year — but his rate statistics have fallen. In 2018-19 (he finished top-seven in the AL MVP voting both yearPandora| Columbias) Chapman produced a .348 on-base percentage and 131 OPS+. In 2020-21, those numbers dropped to .306 and 105. 

Concerning, sure. Alarming, no. 

If that type of drop happened at 33, it would be more problematic. But he’s still just 28, with a late April birthday that gets him to 29. Getting out of the decidedly pitcher-friendly stadium in Oakland will help his numbers, and finding a home in that stacked Jays lineup won’t hurt, either. 

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Because, again, that’s the thing that makes Chapman such a perfect fit in Toronto. With or without Freeman, the Blue Jays have a powerful offense. Yes, they lost Marcus Semien and that hurts, but their four outfielders each hit at least 21 home runs last year, topped by Teoscar Hernandez and his 32. Their shortstop, Bo Bichette, hit 29 in his Age 23 season. Cavan Biggio, the current favorite to play second, had a .368 on-base percentage in his first two years before dropping off last year. He’s entering his Age 27 season, and the Jays are still looking at potential upgrades there.

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The Jays will score a ton of runs even without Freeman. And now, with Chapman at th atlanta braves jersey mens medium ird and Guerrero at first, they’ll pre gray atlanta braves jersey vent more runs than they would have with Guerrero at third and Freeman at first. 

There’s still a long way to go until Opening Day, but Jays fans have to be pretty happy right about now.