Matt Chapman injury update makes Luis Arraez’s SF Giants dream impossible

While it has seemed like an obvious inevitability that SF Giants All-Star second baseman Luis Arraez will be traded ahead of the August 3 trade deadline, he recently said that he would be open to a contract extension. Unfortunately, the latest news on Matt Chapman probably makes that impossible.

In a recent update on Chapman’s health he is going to be shut down from baseball activities through this weekend so it does not sound like he’s particularly close to returning. The hope initially was he’d be back before the All-Star Break but that obviously hasn’t happened.

We will have to see if he ends up requiring a rehab stint before returning to the big league club but either way it makes it harder for the Giants to trade him in the coming weeks as teams may be worried about the injury’s effects for the rest of the season.

Even if Chapman was healthy and playing well it would be hard to trade him because of his big contract and the $100 million he’s owed after this season. Plus, he has a no-trade clause and can dictate where he goes or whether he wants to be traded at all.

An Arraez extension seems really unlikely

All of that makes it very unlikely that the Giants will extend Arraez even though he has probably been their best player this season. He could easily win another batting title and has been one of the best defensive second baseman in the game.

Not only that but he’s an absolute joy to watch with his antics at the plate and his fun-loving attitude. He’s a guy everyone could get used to in a Giants uniform for a long time but with the year Casey Schmitt is having something has to give.

Schmitt has been a great sport and has been willing to move all over the diamond as needed this year. He’s having a great year offensively and as of this writing has 19 homers on the season. He’s probably the biggest All-Star snub of anyone.

The Giants would probably want to have him at second base for the next few years at a more affordable price than Arraez who would probably command $15-20 million per year on a contract extension.

The only way to keep both Arraez and Schmitt is to trade Chapman or Willy Adames to create an opening for Schmitt in the infield. Trading either of those guys just seems very difficult since they are both underperforming, owed a lot of money, and have no-trade clauses so Arraez may be the odd man out since he’s a free agent after the season.

It will be a shame if he does indeed get traded, but Schmitt’s breakout year has forced San Francisco’s hand so Arraez’s hope of an extension will almost certainly not be realized. 

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