As successful as they have been at reaching the postseason the past decade, the Oakland A’s constantly find themselves in sticky situations. The A’s develop young talent, watch them progress into All-Stars, and then refuse to pay them and let them walk in free agency, or deal them for prospects to revamp their farm system.
Oakland traded Josh Donaldson to the Toronto Blue Jays prior to his 2015 MVP season. They received Brett Lawrie and a haul of prospects, none who became anything special.
Just this week, they let shortstop Marcus Semien leave in free agency. Semien signed a one-year, $18 million contract, coincidentally, with the Toronto Blue Jays.
Matt Chapman and the Oakland A’s are at a crossroads and he could be their next big star on the move.
The next big question on the table for the Oakland A’s is Matt Chapman. Chapman, who will be 28 in April, is under team control for three more seasons and one of the best third baseman in the majors, ranked fifth by Buster Olney in the latest ESPN position rankings.
He has won two Gold Glove Awards, was an All-Star in 2019, and finish in the top seven in 2018 and 2019 in the AL MVP voting. Chapman has an insane glove and has the potential to hit for real power. Through four seasons, his OPS. is .839.
Chapman is not going to be in Oakland for the rest of his career. They simply cannot afford him when he inevitably hits free agency. The Oakland A’s should trade Chapman now because he will have higher value with three seasons of team control left.
Here are three teams that Matt Chapman could be traded to this offseason.