How the players involved in the Matt Chapman trade are doing in 2023

The Oakland Athletics and the Toronto Blue Jays have made high-profile trades over the past decade, starting with the Josh Donaldson transaction during the 2014/2015 offseason that saw Brett Lawrie head to California alongside a trio of prospects and culminating in the Matt Chapman deal prior to the 2022 season. This deal was led by the Jays’ 2021 first-round pick RHP Gunnar Hoglund with three more prospects in INF Kevin Smith, LHP Kirby Snead, and LHP Zach Logue joining Hoglund as part of the trade package.

Fast forward to today and Chapman has become one of the top players to start the 2023 season, as the third baseman entered today’s contest with an AL-leading 1.3 bWAR, .360 batting average, .680 slugging, and a 1.115 OPS. He sits in the 100 percentile in Hardhit%, xwOBA, xSLG, and Barrel% and leads the Blue Jays squad in terms of home runs (5) and RBIs (17). The righty-batter also owns a 3 bDRS at the hot corner.

While the stats are indeed impressive for Chapman to begin the year, let’s take a look at how the players who went the other way are doing to begin the 2023 season.

At the time of the trade, Hoglund was still recovering from Tommy John surgery that he went through a few months prior to the 2021 MLB Draft. The Jays’ 19th overall pick that season made his debut with the A’s last season in mid-July, making two appearances in Rookie Ball and one appearance with the Single-A Stockton Ports. A separate biceps injury ended his season early last year and he begins the 2023 campaign on the IL with the same injury, with the University of Mississippi product only having eight innings under his belt since 2021.

Hoglund is currently slated to return to the diamond in late May/early June and is ranked as the A’s #12th prospect heading into the season.

At the time of the trade, southpaw Zach Logue was in the upper levels of the Jays Minor League system and was knocking at the MLB door with no spot really open for him in the rotation (to begin the year at least). Logue would start the year in AAA but made his MLB Debut on April 19th, eventually making 14 appearances (10 starts) and amassing a 6.79 ERA with a 6.6 K/9 through 57 innings.

At the end of the 2022 season, Logue would be DFA’d by the A’s to make room for the Drew Rucinski signing, with the Detroit Tigers picking him up via waivers. The Ohio product would be DFA’d by the Tigers shortly after but went unclaimed and began the season in AAA with the Toledo Mud Hens. Through four outings (three starts), the former Blue Jays prospect owns a 2.77 ERA through 13 innings with 13 strikeouts and ten walks with just four earned runs allowed.

Left-hander Kirby Snead made his MLB debut with the Blue Jays in 2021, appearing in seven games and crafting a 2.35 ERA. Snead would crack the Opening Day roster for the A’s last season and while he did spend some time in AAA halfway through the season, he still made 46 appearances with the big league club while crafting a 5.84 ERA, a 4.61 FIP, and a 64 ERA+ while walking batters at a 4.4 BB/9 compared to a 7.1 K/9. Interestingly enough, with the A’s made the trip to Toronto in 2022, Snead was placed on the restricted list, meaning he was unvaccinated at the time and would have been subject to quarantine entry requirements when crossing both borders. Because of this move, Logue was called up to take his place on the roster.

A shoulder strain suffered in spring training has Snead on the 60-day IL to start the season.

After a handful of games during the 2021 season, the door for more playing time opened wide for Smith after he was traded to the A’s, as Bo Bichette was entrenched at shortstop for the Blue Jays and Smith’s playing time was not guaranteed at the big league level.

In his first campaign with Oakland, the New York product split time between Triple-A and the big leagues, crafting a .180/.216/.302 slash line and a .518 OPS through 46 games on the active roster. Defensively, he spent more time at third base compared to shortstop, amassing a .991 and a .962 fielding percentage at each position respectively.

This spring, Smith was fighting for a spot on the Opening Day roster and impressed many, going 17 for 43 (.395) with 15 RBI’s, but he was one of the last cuts and started the year down in Triple-A Las Vegas. That option wouldn’t last long, as he was called up to the A’s roster on April 10th and has appeared in 12 games so far, going 7 for 40 (.175) with zero walks and two RBI’s while striking out 15 times.

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