About two weeks ago, in the late hours of September 4 Pacific Time, it was announced that the Giants and third baseman Matt Chapman agreed to a six-year, $151MM extension to keep him from opting out of his contract and returning to free agency. In recent days, a report from Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic characterized the negotiations as unusual, with former player Buster Posey dealing directly with Chapman, working around Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi and Chapman’s agent Scott Boras. Posey is a minority owner of the club and a part of its board of directors.
This seemed to suggest that the club’s ownership group was losing faith in Zaidi as its top baseball decision maker. Today, a report from John Shea and Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle frames the negotiations differently. Per the report, which readers are encouraged to check out in full, Zaidi has been in the hospital a couple of times lately with an undisclosed medical issue, conducting business from there, and the involvement from other staff members was fairly normal in the context of his health-related absences. Today’s report from the Chronicle suggests that the previous reporting from The Athletic overstated Posey’s role in the whole affair. Both Boras and Zaidi spoke to the Chronicle and admitted that Posey was involved, which they both welcomed, but they pushed back on the idea that this was some kind of subterfuge operation.
“Any report that suggests that Farhan and I did not negotiate the financial package is inaccurate,” Boras told the Chronicle. “The years and guarantee totals presented to Matt were a product of a two-week negotiation conducted with Farhan and me while he was in and out of the hospital. As with most long-term contracts, once you have agreement on financial terms, there are ancillary contract terms – guarantee language, no-trade provisions, charitable donations, signing bonus and salary payment structure – that are commonly completed by other team officials. Once the ancillary terms were completed, Farhan and I exchanged a letter of agreement Monday afternoon (Sept. 2), and the agreement was concluded.” Zaidi framed things similarly.
Despite the different picture of the negotiations, the report does acknowledge that Zaidi appears to be on the hot seat. Per the Chronicle, the club’s board of directors wants to wait for the final weeks of the season to play out before deciding on Zaidi’s future. If his job security is tied to the Giants’ on-field performance, he may indeed be in trouble. They have gone 5-9 in September, bringing their season-long record down to 73-78. The remaining schedule is fairly strong. They play the Orioles twice more before three games each against the Royals, Diamondbacks and Cardinals.
There has been plenty of smoke around Zaidi and the front office lately, on the heels of a few years of tepid results. The club went 107-55 under his watch in 2021 but that record fell to 81-81 in 2022, then 79-83 last year and might be even lower this year. A week ago, a report from Shea revealed that the contracts of Zaidi and manager Bob Melvin are only guaranteed through 2025 and not 2026, as previously believed. Both contracts have some sort of club option structure for 2026 but nothing is locked in and the details of the options aren’t publicly known. That was followed by the report from The Athletic suggesting that the ownership group grew frustrated by a lack of progress in the Chapman talks and dispatched Posey to take the reins.
Today’s report frames things in a way that’s less detrimental to Zaidi but still doesn’t back away from the notion that he is in trouble. Per Shea and Slusser today, the owners will do whatever they think is best for the team, regardless of Zaidi’s contract situation and are “taking a hard look” at him. Whether all this smoke is indicative of a firing is something that will perhaps be revealed in the coming weeks and months.
Carl Winslow
Congratulations to Matt on his contract extension. Well deserved.
Very Barry
Regardless of who led the extension talks with Matt Chapman ….. It was an absolute mistake at a price tag of 6 years and $151 million. Kris Bryant vibes.
Carl Winslow
I disagree, Very Barry.
– Carl Winslow
SFGLifer
I agree with your disagree 🙂 Chapman’s sporting a 6.7 war and has taken over the leadership position on the team that has been adrift ever since Buster retired. Very valuable player
Blackpink in the area
Maybe we should ask his family Carl. I think that’s what really matters.
27champyankees
@SFGLifer
Leadership?
The Giants are in 4th place. Losing record 5 games below .500 and 9 games behind in the EasyAss 3rd wildcard…..So, if Chapman is the leader of that you’re in deep sheeet
Joggin’George
He’s 31. He’ll decline VERY quickly.
Joggin’George
He won’t be close to worth that money within 2-3 years.
richardc
I don’t think that’s necessarily true. With all the advancements in sports medicine, we are seeing careers extended of those players that take care of their bodies and really buy in to some of the new techniques that are made available to them by their own personal trainers and team physicians/trainers.
While I do tend to agree that Chapman will most certainly see a decline in his performance, I don’t think it will be in the next two seasons.
I could see Chapman start to show more of a decline by the last two years of his new deal, but that’s the price you pay of keeping veterans sometimes.
In this case I don’t believe the Giants have left themselves many options, and I tend to think re-signing Chapman long-term was the best move they could make at the moment.
If they want to attract free agents and not have to significantly overpay to obtain them, then they need to field a competitive roster. Chapman is someone that helps towards that, and that’s another small victory in this deal as well.
JoeBrady
He won’t be close to worth that money within 2-3 years.
===================
I’d gladly take that wager. He has a 6.8 bWAR this year. What do you think his bWAR will be over the next three years?
Joggin’George
I think it could be ten or less. Probably not that low but the gradual decline is a myth. More often players simply fall off a cliff by 32, 33 years old.
Joggin’George
I don’t actually see any evidence that position players are playing either longer or extending their peaks. 31 has, for a long time, been the magic age of decline. I see nothing that indicates this has changed.
Mostly, fans just don’t want to admit that their favorite player is going to decline.
And most fans believe the myth that decline is generally gradual. It’s actually most often pretty sudden and big.
rct
Kris Bryant was coming off of a 3.3 WAR season and hadn’t had a season over 4.4 in four years when he signed his deal. He was also a slugger and not a good defender. Chapman had 4.4 WAR in 2023 and now 6.7 in 2024 and is an excellent defender. I’m getting no Bryant vibes here.
mab51357
Agreed. Chapman could give lessons to Bryant about being available to play. Chapman is a gamer and plays hurt a lot. Great signing of a player with many intangibles. The Bryant comparison is about as far off as can be. If anyone criticizing the signing would watch him every single game for a season as many of us have, the opinion would be different
JoeBrady
No comparison, imo.
1-Chapman is healthier.
2-In the three seasons prior to signing, Bryant averaged 2.8 bWAR and 3.9/650. Chapman averaged 4.9 & 5.3.
3-When he signed, Bryant was pretty much finished as a 3B, meaning the Rox were paying to be a slightly above average LF.
At the end of the day, paying a LF that type of money leaves no margin for error. He can’t get hurt, and he can’t decline. Someone like Chapman should be worth $25M for at least three seasons on fielding alone.
richardc
Absolutely spot on @JoeBrady.
That’s not even including the fact that Matt Chapman is a leader in the Giants clubhouse and a very well liked and respected veteran among his peers. The same could not be said for Kris Bryant.
Chapman has been and still is one of the better all-around 3B in the NL, and the Giants need to hold onto key leaders from which to help build their next contender around. Fitzgerald, Chapman, and Ramos are currently their best position players in their line-up. If their goal is to contend next season, you have to keep Matt Chapman. It isn’t very complicated, and it was the correct move for the Giants.
Joggin’George
He’s 31. They’re gonna regret this.
FemboySportsFan!
stop talking about age lmao, you’re a cards fan, you guys are still throwing out lance Lynn, miles mikolas, and Paul Goldschmidt.
rocky7
Don’t disagree that holding on to him in the short term…..say next season and the one after probably was central to the team putting a product together that might challenge both the Dodgers and Diamonbacks for West supremacy, but what about the 4 years beyond that when they very well might be stuck with a player who can’t hit his weight and basically is a glove first 3rd baseman…..
mab51357
That’s your opinion and you’re welcome to it. Chapman has taken great care of himself physically and I don’t see anywhere near the regression over the life of the contract as some do IMHO. No one knows for sure. But I’ll be happy to watch his all around game for many years.
Joggin’George
So, because my team has old players that means I can’t speak about the patterns of decline?
Dear sir, please explain this “logic” of yours.
Joggin’George
You cant “see” this regression. It will hit quickly and hard unless Matt turns out to be one of the few exceptions.
Joggin’George
Point is, statistically speaking, he is almost certainly to begin his decline within the first 2 years of the deal.
DonOsbourne
Sounds a lot like damage control.
Carl Winslow
Matt Chapman patrols 3rd base with the tenacity of a Bengal tiger, ready to pounce on any ball hit towards him.
mab51357
Well put. He really does attack anything hit his way and pounces. I got to watch him in the Bay Bridge series a lot when he was with the A’s and I knew he had a great glove. But after watching him every game this season, I never thought he was as great as he actually is on defense. He strikes out alot but most do (except for Arraez lol) and he’ll finish with 25-30 HR and 80-90 RBI and another GG. Not to bad for 25 mil per year
BlueSkies_LA
Sounds to me more like a lot of never mind.
davemlaw
There are strange things afoot going on in SF.
This was a very disappointing season. Tempers are high. But Farhan’s job is safe, at least for one more year. Not saying that’s good but it is what it is.
User 576253516
Farhan? More like GoFarAwayFromMeHan!
I wouldn’t trust that man to run the merch tent at a fall league game
cainer18
I think this is kind of a non-story that’s been blown out of proportion. Having Posey, whose role in the front office is to be a bridge between the players and ownership, talk to Chapman feels completely normal.
The real story that puts Farhan’s job security on shakier ground is the recent news about his 2026 contract being a club option. Farhan is essentially a lame duck headed into this winter, and that bodes far worse for him than a beat writer game of telephone about how involved Posey was with the Chapman negotiations.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Farhan gets axed, but I think the likelier option is that he gets one last chance to save his job this winter. And even if Farhan gets canned, I doubt Posey will take over. Some Giants fans think that Posey is the heir apparent to the front office, but I don’t see it. He was an all-time great player for the franchise and he can be a player-centric voice of reason in the ownership group, but that doesn’t mean he has the skills (or desire) to orchestrate a franchise’s staff, baseball ops, and roster construction. It’s like saying “this manager is great in the clubhouse, so let’s have him be the GM.” Two different skill sets that don’t always mesh.
Carl Winslow
I agree with everything you said.
– Carl Winslow
cainer18
I appreciate the kind words.
XOXO
cainer18
Samuel
cainer18;
We have a few posters like you here. Need a lot more.
Look forward to more from you.
–
-It’s like saying “this manager is great in the clubhouse, so let’s have him be the GM.” Two different skill sets that don’t always mesh.-
Then there was Bobby Cox of the Braves….
A so-so GM that became their manager when John Schuerholz was brought in from KC to run the Braves FO. Cox then became one of the best MLB managers of the last 70 years over the ensuing 20 years.
However, don’t think Farhan would be a great manager. LOL
JoeBrady
You hear things like that every day. Any time a 35 year old player is available, someone will write ‘he’ll be a good mentor for the kids’. No one knows that. He could be a meth-head loner
Having a player-centric voice might be great when it allows the FO to see things thru the eyes of a player. But that doesn’t mean that Posey knows anything about scouting, contracts, etc.
I still remember when the Mets hired an agent to be the GM.
mab51357
I sure as heck couldn’t explained it even close to as well as you cainer18.
cainer18
CardsFan57
The Yankees ownership did this with the A-Rod negotiations. As far as I know, Cashman is still there.
Carl Winslow
Great point.
– Carl Winslow
YankeesBleacherCreature
And Gary Sheffield before that with Ol’ George.
Carl Winslow
I used to pound 3 Olde English 800 40s of malt liquor in the parking lot before softball games in my cop league and I’d walk up to the batter’s box and imitate Sheffield’s batting stance in order to intimidate everyone. Every single player in the field with a glove on was put on notice when Officer Winslow made his way to the plate.
swinging wood
Was this before or after the year suspension for being a cheater?
This one belongs to the Reds
Bora$ is in full spin mode.
Carl Winslow
I really like how you replaced the letter S in “Boras” with a dollar sign in order to imply how he is a money driven individual. Very clever. Well done.
– Carl Winslow
Karensjer
It also works with Yankee$ and Padre$
fred-3
They need to get him transition lenses as a going away present
draker
Sounds like a couple of guys trying to save face to me.
Giants78
Yes, had the same thought.
JayRyder
Posey is there for a reason. Farhan might have the post. But his teams are old slow no cohesion had a bad manager for years bad defense minor league issues and a sub .500 team. Time to move on.
swinging wood
I’ll be honest. I don’t really believe the majority of what I read these days. It’s sad, but it’s served me well. Who knows the true story. Whatever and oh well.
C Yards Jeff
Alls I know is what I see.
Was at OPACY last night. Giants looked like the playoff team there, not my Orioles. You guys aren’t that far off. I’m not reading too much in to this FO situation.
Oh man, your 2× MVP lefty on the bump last night toyed with Henderson. First at bat, a steady diet of heat. 2nd at bat, sliders. OMG, have a seat Gunnar. Nice investment!
baseballfreak25
But you believe what you’ve read about cheaters in baseball? There was no cheating during the steroid era because virtually everyone was juicing. If only one or two had been alleged then it would be cheating but tons of players have came forward and said the big shock was that someone wasn’t on steroids. Even the ones going in the HOF have been either busted or accused. David Ortiz was popped twice. Griffey Jr fell apart just like the rest of those guys. Can’t be busted if you spend your last few years on the IL. Nomar fell apart after they cracked down on steroids. Todd Helton, Curt Shilling, Luis Gonzalez and the list could go on forever! Bonds, Sosa and McGwire all got the shaft. No steroids have ever magically turned a standard ball player into a baseball god. Bonds would have probably broken the record regardless and had over 800 homers if baseball owners hadn’t blackballed him. MCGwire fell apart physically and the same with Sosa. Griffey never even remotely looked like himself after MLB cracked down on roids. So before you believe the lies that MLB told you about some, research the real truth.
J.J. Hunsecker
Huh?! I’ll make sure to use the “virtually everyone” was speeding defense the next time I get pulled over and see how far that gets me with Officer Jones.
Without steroids, Bonds doesn’t even come close to breaking any HR records. Home run hitting during the steroid era was like watching a cross between a video game and a Marvel movie with veterans increasing their HR numbers as they got older! It was a joke and made a mockery of the game.
bhambrave
Cheating is cheating, whether one person does it or every player does it. You need to grow some principles.
Stone Seal
Transitions are trash. Glasses should always be platooned.
Karensjer
Latest on extension talks? I thought he had already signed the contract extension. Is there something I am missing? Did he suddenly become a free agent again 10 days after signing the contract and now he’s in talks with the Giants again? Free agency is so confusing.
Frenchredsox
The deal signed was always going to be an overpay – due to the fact of its timing (end of season) , his actual performance and the for the Giants to get a “win” after a disappointing season(s). The usage of Posey, although unusual , was useful and sensible as it achieved a purpose – getting Chapman to sign . Boras had a strong position , the Giants didn’t … all in all the player got what he wanted : security (6 years) and over 150 million .
Mikenmn
There’s something that seems a bit off about the chronology–if the two “principal” negotiators have come to a deal, you send in the senior staff who are familiar with the nuts and bolts to negotiate the ancillary details. Posey doesn’t seem to be that kind of a guy, so Boras might be trying to save face for the entire situation. Not a knock on Boras–it may simply be this is a one-off with special circumstances and getting the desired result is more important that the exact process. The player got what he wanted, the team seemed satisfied.
Redwolves3
Regardless of how Chapman’s deal was completed & who was involved it still doesn’t reflect Zaidi’s overall job performance for 6 years.
.500 level teams is unacceptable & giving Zaidi one more year to save his job isn’t the answer.
Fire Zaidi
maxmilna
The Giants are irrelevant and Matt Chapman isn’t that good. Who cares
norcalblue
Baggarly’s response to Shea and Slusser:
“I don’t think there will be any kind of follow-up but I can offer a bit more background if it’s helpful. As I interpreted the Chronicle story, it didn’t refute our reporting or assert fabrications. It claimed that a portion of the story was overstated. To that point, I’ll acknowledge that I could have used alternative language when I wrote about Posey and Chapman “hammering out” the deal while Zaidi and Boras had been down a path towards agreeing to terms. It would have been more precise to write that Posey made certain guarantees, including the no-trade provision, to push the process over the finish line. I’d further point out that I had been aware of Zaidi’s health issues but did not report them out of respect for his privacy. (It had also been made clear to me by multiple sources that Zaidi’s hospitalization was not the reason that Posey felt compelled to get involved.) I understand that competing news outlets often will seek to reshape the narrative somewhat when they are following a story, which in the Chronicle’s case, included giving Boras wide latitude to express his point of view. Regardless, our story holds: Ownership, with Posey as its proxy, was not willing to stand by and trust that Zaidi and Boras would button up the Chapman contract on their own. You can interpret that lack of faith in any manner you choose. We’ll see what that means going forward.”
JoeBrady
Nicely framed rebuttal by Baggarly. I believe him. If the only issue, for example, was the no-trade, then Zaidi could’ve handled that in a hospital bed.
EBJ
Andy, you have proven yourself over the years to be a very intelligent individual. Very knowledgeable. And a great writer that I have enjoyed for years.. I believe that you chose your words for the initial article carefully. Very carefully. You could have used “alternative language” but you chose not to. You could have been “more precise” but you chose not to. Surely, you wanted the story to sound exactly as it did. Obviously, you wanted to frame Farhan Zaidi in the worse possible light. I am so disappointed in you.
Yankee Clipper
Is it me or does it look like they clearly based Tom Cruise’s character, Les Grossman, directly off of the thumbnail pic?
Carl Winslow
That’s really funny, Yankee Clipper. I really enjoyed your reference to the movie Tropic Thunder. It’s a great film that really draws it’s strength and humor from the talent of actors like Robert Downey Jr and Ben Stiller.
– Carl Winslow
Giant1962
Here’s my take…Zaidi will be fired in late Sept. At very end of season. See Kapler last year. He was fired just before season ended. We’ll see..
Sadler
“Per the Chronicle, the club’s board of directors wants to wait for the final weeks of the season to play out before deciding on Zaidi’s future.”
I don’t see how the last two weeks of the season can possibly give you any more information than the last 6 years, but what do I know…
Jay 30
Hire Al Avila. Look at all the kids he’s drafted driving the Tigers into contention.
Joggin’George
Classic mistake of paying a player while he’s peaking while completing neglecting that he’s sure to decline. Very few players keep this up past age 32. And cherry picking out and mentioning the rare exceptions doesn’t weaken my point.
JoeBrady
It goes without saying that he will decline over the next 6 years. That’s fairly meaningless.
The important part is, how much will he decline each year. If he declines by .5 bWAR, off of his past three-year average, then his next 4 years he will accumulate ~ 17 WAR. That alone is worth maybe $136M. They won’t care about the final 2 years at that point.
Frenchredsox
Which is the point – no team projects for 2029 or 30 they build for next season ( or in a rebuild the season after). The Giants , due to multiple reasons , have to appear competitive and so the signing at THIS juncture says “ We are going to challenge” the Padres,D-backs and those Dodger millionaires. And he becomes poster boy for the Soto negotiations of their commitment to win now ( if Soto cares …)
Jean Matrac
Joggin’George, “Very few players keep this up past age 32.”
You’re exaggerating the effect of decline as a player ages into his 30s. How about some data that supports that contention? Fangraphs did a study into the aging curve of players in their 30s. Their conclusion was that, while they do decline. the curve is relatively flat. It isn’t until the late 30’s that the amount of drop in the curve increases. Since Chapman’s deal runs through to his age 37 season, it’s reasonable to expect 4 or 5 productive seasons. Any team would be happy with that, since all teams will look at the end of a deal like this as a write off; the cost of doing business.
SkenesandSlopes
While they do decline. That answers it.
Jean Matrac
Only to someone with a lack of understanding of what various different curves mean.
The Saber-toothed Superfife
“this smoke is indicative of a firing”…..
Lol….good one.
bestone
Send some of that smoke over to Toronto….
Non Roster Invitee
Farhan’s in the hospital? Must be brain related.
RonDarlingShouldntBeInTheHallOfFame
Never understood what Farhan’s vision is for building a team. For example..based on the park they play in, you’d think they’d be going after pitching, LH power bats, and speedy, gap hitters year after year..but instead, they seem to focus on broken down reclamation projects, and throwing offers at guys who don’t fit their park.
It’s bizarre.
JoeBrady
you’d think they’d be going after pitching, LH power bats, and speedy, gap hitters
==================================
1-They went after pitching (Snell & Hicks), and a speedy gap hitter Lee, so mission accomplished.
2-I’m not sure you get to go after power bats and speedy gap hitters simultaneously.
RonDarlingShouldntBeInTheHallOfFame
Guess you missed where I said year after year. He’s had plenty of time to put the players on the field that fit the park they play in, but settles for guys like Soler and Haniger instead of good bat to ball guys who can take advantage of triples alley. The guy clearly has no plan (or if he does have one, it’s a bad one).
Jean Matrac
“…settles for guys like Soler and Haniger instead of good bat to ball guys…”
Okay, neither of those signings were good, so you make a good point there. But while you can name name that were bad signings, you don’t name anyone that Zaidi should have signed instead. Every team has a history of some bad signings. But there isn’t some MLB store where you can go on and take a couple of good hitters off the shelf. Most of the time teams have to take what’s available, even when it isn’t exactly what they want.
Jean Matrac
First off, LH power bats aren’t necessarily a good fit for Oracle. The RF wall angles away severely. The only cheap HR to RF is one hit one right down the line. They’ve been too left-handed in the past, and guys like Mile Yastrzemski, Lamonte Wade, and Michael Conforto have not been that successful hitting HRs. It’s hard for both LHHs, and RHHs to hit HRs there.
Signing FA pitchers to long term contracts is problematic. Pitchers get injured at a higher rate than position players. Zaidi has focused on pitching, but doing it through the draft. Having young, inexpensive pitchers under team control is far better than having guys like Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann, Patrick Corbin, Madison Bumgarner, Carlos Rodon, or Jacob deGrom on the payroll.
I disagree that guys like Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani, or Bryce Harper, all guys that Zaidi pursued, were guys that didn’t fit their park. Jung-Hoo Lee is a speeding gap hitter.
And as far as reclamation projects, the Giants were very successful with Kevin Gausman, Carlos Rodon, and to a lesser extent, Anthony DeSclafani. Zaidi was able to get productive guys that their original teams didn’t want, like Thairo Estrada, Wade, and Yaz. Reclamation projects, which other teams attempt as well, is a way of getting inexpensive production.
SkenesandSlopes
1 playoff performance since his arrival in San Francisco. There comes a point where the excuses do not hold any weight.
Jean Matrac
Missing the point again. Was not defending Zaidi, only addressing what @RonDarlingShouldntBeInTheHallOfFame said should be the Giants’ focus on roster building.
SkenesandSlopes
Jean you are a Zaidi apologist. Please do not deflect or claim you have a point.
Jean Matrac
Not sure why I’m responding to you since you seem to lack objectivity. And, thus far I haven’t see any indication that you’re willing to be. And again, I was responding to how the Giants’ roster should be constructed, based on their home park. I was merely pointing out the flaws of the proposed approach.
But that said, I have always been open to a valid criticism of Zaidi. The problem is I haven’t heard one yet. The Zaidi critics cite the W/L bottom line, which lacks insight, and ignores mitigating factors. The other often used complaint is he hasn’t drafted well. Anyone that’s watched baseball for more than a couple years knows that criticism falls short of valid, since it’s too soon to know that.
There are the complaints, based entirely on hindsight, of bad FA signings. Feel free to name a GM or PBO that hasn’t done that. Most Zaidi critics are simply frustrated, and need a scapegoat to blame. I’m as frustrated as anyone, but think it’s better to try and look at Zaidi with some understanding of what he could’ve actually done, rather than spew vague, nonspecific criticisms as a way to alleviate being frustrated.
Don’t be surprised if this is the last time I respond to you. I don’t have time for people unwilling to debate reasonably.