All seven free agents who received a Qualifying Offer (including Matt Chapman) have declined
8 months ago
As expected, Matt Chapman has declined his qualifying offer.
On Tuesday afternoon, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reported that all seven free agents who received a qualifying offer from their respective teams opted to decline. The seven players were Chapman, Shohei Ohtani, Cody Bellinger, Sonny Gray, Josh Hader, Aaron Nola, and Blake Snell.
The 30-year-old third baseman had an interesting season for the Blue Jays in 2023. Chapman slashed .240/.330/.424 with 17 home runs in 581 plate appearances for a 110 wRC+ and a 3.5 fWAR, second on the team in that regard. He also won his fourth American League Gold Glove at third base, posting 12 Defensive Runs Saved and 4 Outs Above Average.
However, it was a tale of two seasons for Chapman at the plate. His first month carried the rest of the season, as he slashed .379/.462/.670 with five homers in 119 plate appearances from March 30 to May 1, and then slashed a .204/.297/.362 line with 12 homers in 462 plate appearances the rest of the way.
If Chapman signs with another team, the Blue Jays will be entitled to compensation, just as they were for Robbie Ray and Marcus Semien after both players left in free agency following the 2021 season. However, due to the team spending above the Competitive Balance Tax, they’ll receive a fourth-round selection instead of a second-round selection.
This doesn’t mean that Chapman’s time in Toronto is necessarily over. There’s certainly a possibility that Chapman can test the open market and ultimately come back to the Blue Jays. According to TSN’s Scott Mitchell, the Jays offered Chapman a deal worth over $100 million before he reached free agency, which he declined.
Accepting the qualifying offer would have brought Chapman back to the Blue Jays on a one-year, $20.325 million contract, and he’ll surely earn more than that on a multi-year deal in free agency, so none of this comes as any surprise.
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