Getty Yankees potential trade target Matt Chapman
Perhaps things are looking up for the Yankees. It was only one game, but given the way the grinding despair of the last three weeks had built up, culminating in the extra-inning loss at home on Friday night to the Red Sox—which the Yankees led, 3-1, with two outs in the top of the ninth—Saturday’s 14-4 drubbing of Boston came with some relief. The Yankees are staring down the barrel of the MLB trade deadline, after all, and they’re going to need some answers before it arrives.
Perhaps Ben Rice is one answer. He slugged three home runs in the win over Boston. There’s a chance the rookie could rescue the Yankees at first base, where Anthony Rizzo was struggling even before suffering a broken arm that forced the early call-up of Rice from Triple A.
But there are still many holes in this lineup. And veteran New York Post reporter Jon Heyman says there’s a chance they could add a Gold Glove slugger to bolster a flagging infield that badly needs help: Giants third baseman Matt Chapman.
Yankees Could Target 3B at Deadline
There are contingencies, though, with a potential Chapman deal. It would depend, first, on whether the Giants go into the final week of July still in the hunt for one of the National League wild card slots. The Giants are 44-46, a major disappointment for a team that had loaded up to compete in 2024. They’ve been in the thick of the playoff hunt, but increasingly, other teams are pulling away.
The Giants are 3.0 games behind the 46-42 Cardinals for the final spot in the NL, with the Diamondbacks and surging Mets ahead of them. San Francisco has had a slew of injuries, too, and could be banking on a return to health to straighten out their fortunes. But if they don’t, says Heyman …
“They spent the offseason, Jung Hoo Lee, center field, who is now out, Matt Chapman, (Blake) Snell—they’re gonna wait to see, with Snell coming back,” Heyman said during a Bleacher Report livestream. “They got (Robbie) Ray, they got (Alex) Cobb, they got a lot of guys coming back. If they do sell, I wouldn’t be shocked if Chapman is a target for the Yankees.”
Matt Chapman’s Contract a Complication?
The Yankees third basemen have been terrible this year, batting .232 combined with an OPS of .601, the third-worst in MLB. The group has a total of just 13 extra-base hits all year while playing third, worst in baseball. The culprits have been, primarily, DJ LeMahieu and Oswaldo Carbera.
Chapman is an excellent third baseman, which would make him an immediate upgrade for the Yankees. If he could hit, too, they’d have to consider making a deal for him. Chapman has not been stellar this season, hitting .244 with a .328 on-base percentage and a .422 slugging percentage, but he has 12 home runs and would give some production from what has been a dead spot in the lineup.
His contract could be a complicating factor. Ideally, the Yankees would pick up Chapman as a rental, as he can be a free agent next offseason. But he signed a three-year, $54 million contract this offseason with the Giants, and has player options for both next season and 2026, meaning the Yankees can’t say for sure whether they’re getting a rental or a guy who will be with them for two-and-a-half years.
Working out compensation for that kind of contract is complicated. But if the Yankees are determined to make a World Series run, Chapman could be a risk worth taking.