There is a well-deserved narrative that the Oakland A’s do not spend money. Eric Chavez and his six year, $66 million contract signed back in 2004 remain the largest deal in franchise history. This is one of the examples given to show how cheap the A’s have been throughout the past two decades.
While the narrative may not have changed much, the A’s did make an attempt to lock in a piece of their core. They had offered Matt Chapman a ten year, $150 million extension during the 2019-20 offseason, which their star third baesman had rejected.
Matt Chapman helped Oakland A’s by rejecting extension
It made sense for the A’s to attempt to lock Chapman in at the time. He had just completed another stellar season in 2019, producing a .249/.342/.506 batting line in his 670 plate appearances, hitting 36 homers and 36 doubles. He made his first All Star Game that year, won his second consecutive Platimun Glove, and finished sixth in the MVP vote. Chapman appeared to be the next superstar at the hot corner.
Then 2020 happened. Chapman injured his hip and has not been the same since. While the defense returned last year and he won his third Gold Glove award, the offense has not come back. Chapman has produced a disappointing .215/.306/.431 batting line in his 774 plate appearances, hitting 37 homers, but striking out 256 times.
One can certainly wonder what would have happened had Chapman accepted that extension offer. Would the A’s have then pivoted to extend other pieces of that core, such as Matt Olson and Sean Manaea? Or would they have used Chapman’s deal as an excuse as to why they were unable to spend any money elsewhere?
Injuries are impossible to predict. Chapman had been healthy prior to his hip issues in 2020. Had he signed that extension two years ago, it would have been a victory for the A’s. Now, it is a bullet that they were able to dodge.
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The Oakland A’s were looking to extend Matt Chapman two offseasons ago. By rejecting that contract, he actually did the A’s a favor.