Factors That Make Giants Star Matt Chapman Hard to Trade at Deadline

The San Francisco Giants sounds like they may want to move their third baseman in a trade but that’s going to be difficult based on a few factors.

San Francisco Giants third baseman Matt Chapman. | Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images

At what point does a team decide that a player is no longer a part of their future? That is a question the San Francisco Giants are asking themselves about several players.

The Giants would need an all-time heater to get back into the National League West race. The same can be said of the NL wild card race. San Francisco had hoped to contend for at least a wild card berth this year. Now they’re only one win ahead of the Colorado Rockies in the division.

It seems highly unlikely the Giants won’t be sellers at the trade deadline on Aug. 3. The only question is how much?

One player that could drive conversation is third baseman Matt Chapman.

Can the Giants Trade Matt Chapman?

San Francisco Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey. | Robert Edwards-Imagn Images

USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported in his Sunday notes column that the Giants are “hopeful” they can move Chapman at the deadline. He said the same for pitcher Robbie Ray and second baseman Luis Arraez. Other outlets have reported that the trio could be among the players the Giants try to move.

Ray and Arraez could be relatively easy moves for the Giants to make. Chapman, on the other hands, comes with strings the other two don’t.

After his resurgent 2024 with the Giants, Chapman — who previously played across the bay in Oakland — expressed a desire to stay. San Francisco wanted him as well and signed him to a six-year, $151 million deal. The Giants got one of the best defensive third basemen in the game. Chapman got security.

Now? Chapman is still a Gold Glove-level defender, and his bat is still in line with where it was two years ago. He’s in his age 33 season and he could end up with another 20-home run season. San Francisco would move him to get the remainder of his contract off their payroll. San Francisco is on the hook for $100 million over the next four seasons. It’s a payroll trim that avoids a player’s potential decline.

But there’s a hitch. Chapman and his agent negotiated a full no-trade clause. It’s not a deal-breaker. But it means the Giants must get Chapman on board with a trade before they make it. If he wants to stay, then he stays. But that has the potential to damage the future relationship.

There is another hitch. MLB and the players’ union are negotiating a new CBA. It won’t take effect until at least 2028, but teams may be reticent to add that much payroll at a time when the players are pushing for the status quo and ownership is pushing for a salary cap. There’s no guarantee that a team trading for Chapman gets his contract grandfathered into a baseball world with a salary cap.

The Giants could trade Chapman. But it won’t be easy.