Oakland A’s fans start petition to get Matt Chapman paid

In the wake of learning that Matt Chapman is making less than his agent this season, Oakland A’s fans are trying to get him paid.

It is a fact of life that young players in the majors do not get paid the high salaries that come with multiple years in the show. It is not until later in arbitration, and then free agency, that those contracts truly improve. When a player is a member of the Oakland A’s, those higher salaries tend to be a pipe dream.

Those points were hammered home on Saturday. With the shortened season and pro-rated pay for 2020, players such as Matt Chapman are barely receiving anything in terms of pay. With his stature as one of the best third basemen in the game, and a building block for the franchise, that has rubbed some of the fans the wrong way.

In an effort to change that, an A’s fan has started a petition on Chapman’s behalf. With this, he is attempting to put pressure on the organization to attempt to sign their budding star to a long term extension.

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Obviously, there are a lot more signatures needed before the organization would even start to pay attention to the petition. At the time this article is being written (9:21 PM EST) there are only 19 signatures. That really is not going to cut it.

While the petition may be a futile act, one can understand the logic behind such a move. Chapman has established himself as one of the best players on the A’s, and at 27 years old, is just entering his prime. He is the type of player that any team would want to build around.

Chapman has proven that statistically as well. Thus far, in his 385 major league games, he has produced a solid .257/.341/.500 batting line, hitting 74 homers and 101 doubles. Defensively, there has not been a better third baseman since he reached the majors, as he has saved 40 runs and won two consecutive Platinum Gloves.

And that is just the beginning. Chapman, as he is entering his hypothetical prime, could be ready to take his performance to the next level. Should that happen, he is certain to price himself outside of the budget, hence the desire to have the A’s lock him up now.

Oakland A’s fans have started a petition to sign Matt Chapman to a long term contract. Whether or not this will have any impact is questionable, but one can understand the sentiment.