Matt Chapman could play a pivotal role in shaping the Giants’ direction this offseason.
Earlier this month, the Giants’ third baseman, along with franchise icon Buster Posey, secured a six-year, $151 million contract extension with San Francisco—a critical move for the front office.
Now, as the Giants approach an important offseason, Chapman is teaming up with teammate Logan Webb to assist in free-agent recruiting, as Webb revealed in an exclusive interview with The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly.
They’ve already started making an impact.
“Have you noticed how (Chapman) greets every player who reaches third base?” Webb shared with Baggarly. “Every guy goes out of their way to talk to him. It might seem minor, but I think it’s key for our future offseasons. We’ve struggled to attract free agents.
“I’ve been involved in recruiting, and it’s frustrating when you invest time in a player, and he signs elsewhere. Having Chappy will definitely help. It won’t just be a right-handed sinkerball pitcher trying to convince position players to come here, right? I can’t tell them what it’s like to hit here.”
Last offseason, San Francisco leaned on Posey and Webb to represent the players’ perspective in free-agent negotiations, which paid off when Webb played a vital role in recruiting right-handed pitcher Jordan Hicks, who signed a four-year, $44 million deal with the Giants.
Webb, now under contract through 2030, hopes Chapman’s leadership and stellar defense as a four-time Gold Glove winner will help attract game-changing free agents to San Francisco this offseason.
Even though they won’t land every target, Webb knows having Chapman by his side will make a difference.
“We’re still going to miss out on some guys,” Webb said. “There are 29 other teams out there. But (Chapman) is highly respected, and players see how hard he works every day. They want to be around that.
“It’s the same thing we saw with the Brandons (Crawford and Belt), Buster, and Longo (Evan Longoria). Guys around the league wanted to play with them.”
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