San Francisco Giants' Matt Chapman bets on himself after 'abnormal' free agency

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - New San Francisco Giants infielder Matt Chapman will be perfectly honest with you.

He had no idea free agency would play out like this.

Neither did veteran agent Scott Boras.

They expected to sign much earlier than the first week of March, and for a lot more than the three-year, $54 million contract he received.

You don’t turn down $120 million from the Toronto Blue Jays before hitting free agency and expect to receive just one-third of the total guarantee.

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This is why Chapman and Boras made sure the contract includes an opt-out after each of the first two seasons.

It’s also why the Giants officially announced the contract as a one-year, $20 million deal, paying him $16 million in salary, a $2 million signing bonus and a $2 million buyout if he opts out.

Well, make that when he opts out.

Boras says Chapman, a four-time Gold Glove winner, received longer contract offers with bigger guarantees, but that Chapman wanted to bet on himself. He wants to prove that he's worth much, much more on next year's open market.

“Definitely a strange market this year," Chapman said Monday morning, “and the free agent market was a little abnormal. Our goals were to either get a long-term contract that we felt that I was worth. If not, get the short-term contract with opt-outs and bet on myself. …

“If I was going to do something long-term, I was going to get the value I’m worth."

The same mantra applies for two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell and Texas Rangers postseason hero Jordan Montgomery, the two prized pitchers still on the free-agent market.

They each wanted lucrative long-term deals when free agency began, with Snell seeking in excess of $250 million and Montgomery more than $170 million. Now, Boras is informing teams that each is amenable to short-term contracts with opt-outs similar to Chapman and Cody Bellinger’s three-year, $80 million deal with the Chicago Cubs.

“Obviously teams have different thoughts," Boras said. “There are teams that want long-term for their particular reasons, and there are teams that want short-term. You kind of listen to both dynamics of what each team has, and wants, and talk to your clients and see what they want to do."

Snell, 28, appears to be more open to a short-term deal and hitting the marketplace again. Yet, the New York Yankees are the only team that has confirmed they made an offer to Snell, and that was for $150 million over five years a month ago, which no longer is on the table. The Yankees says they’re not interested in signing Snell to a short-term deal, considering the luxury tax implications and loss of a draft pick.

While Snell would prefer to pitch on the West Coast, Montgomery’s first choice is returning to the Texas Rangers. But with the Rangers' TV deal expiring after the season, they have been reluctant to commit to a long-term deal for Montgomery.

Their markets still are being shaped as spring training goes on, Boras said. There have been four new teams who have expressed interest in a combination of Snell and Montgomery alone in the last week, Boras said, with teams re-evaluating their needs with three weeks remaining until the season opener.

Spring-training injuries could also change the dynamics. Philadelphia Phillies starter Taijuan Walker, who has been bothered by right knee soreness, still has not pitched in a game this spring. St. Louis Cardinals ace Sonny Gray, who was scheduled to be their opening-day starter, was taken out of Monday's game with right hamstring tightness.

“I think there is a pitching panic going on in Major League Baseball right now," Boras said. “We have got so many starting pitchers that are now compromised, maybe short-term, but some long-term, and the calls for elite starters are certainly starting to increase."

Even if Snell and Montgomery soon sign, they’ll be at least three weeks behind other pitchers in camp. Yet, Boras says both are replicating game situations in their workouts, are healthy and will be ready at the start of the season.

Boras insists there’s no panic. The longer the spring goes on, Boras says, the more teams can accurately access their needs and shortcomings, with the expectation there will be more interest.

“Owners and general managers, they get to spring training," Boras said, “and all of a sudden, 'My team is at risk. Everything I’ve built, this maximum expenditures that my ownership has reached, is now not going to be executed because I’ve got failures that have occurred physically with the talent that I was relying on.'

"So those elements really change how they think because with many clubs rights now because of the pitching issue. The competitiveness of their seasons are at risk."

Boras is hoping that the longer the spring goes on, the Giants might feel the need to add Snell to their rotation. But Farhan Zaidi, Giants president of baseball operations, reiterated again that he believes his club is set after spending $261.25 million in free agency, second-most behind the Los Angeles Dodgers.

“The offseason is really over as far as I’m concerned," Zaidi said. “We’re more in in-season mode, which doesn’t mean you can’t make additions, but it’s a different dynamic because we’re really focused on the players that we have and how they’re all going to fit together. …

"Our plan all along has been to give our young pitchers opportunities and try to create a defense that would support them in their transition. That's one of the reasons Matt was such a priority."

We’ll now see just what teams regard Snell and Montgomery as priorities. Boras isn’t making any predictions when they and slugger J.D. Martinez sign, but believes the market is finally heating up after a long, cold and lonely winter.

“People think that you get a lot of phone calls and you turn a lot of things down,’’ Boras said. “But when you’re dealing with elite players, they have elite values. You don’t get a lot of phone calls. You get really nothing for months.

“I remember when I did Bryce Harper’s contract. You don’t get phone calls for three, four months. Bryce Harper!…

“People ask, 'Why aren’t these players signed?' The answer is that I don't offer contracts. Teams do. And you don’t hear from them until that need arises."

The Giants felt they had that need with Chapman all along, but just waited for the price to drop. Giants manager Bob Melvin, Chapman's former manager for five years with the Oakland A's, constantly pushed the front office to sign him all winter, while Chapman acknowledged this is where he wanted to be all along.

“It just seemed like it was destiny," Chapman said. “I think we’ve got some unfinished business. … Obviously, I enjoyed my time in Toronto. But this was the best opportunity for me in many ways. It just made the most sense."

For now.

He can be a free agent once again in eight months.

We’ll find out if he plans to stick around.

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