Matt Chapman’s 2026 season ended early, but his glove kept doing heavy lifting long after his bat cooled off.
The SF Giants third baseman last appeared in a game at the end of June, and his year closed with season-ending surgery to repair a core muscle injury. He had first gone on the injured list with an abdominal strain, and played through the problem for a couple of months before the diagnosis led to surgery.
The 2026 campaign was a down year overall for the veteran, who finished with a .692 OPS, seven home runs and 42 RBI in 352 plate appearances. He had just one homer through the first two months, then added six more in June.
Even with all of that, Chapman still looked like one of the best defensive third basemen in the game. In fact, by several measures he was right at the top of the National League.
Through August 9, the SABR Defensive Index had him at 11.9, trailing only Andy Pages of the Los Angeles Dodgers at 12.0 and Pete Crow-Armstrong of the Chicago Cubs at 13.4. Chapman also stood far ahead of the rest of the NL third base group, with Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy next at 4.8 SDI.
That kind of defensive profile would have put Chapman in the Gold Glove conversation, since SDI accounts for 25 percent of the voting. He also posted 15 Defensive Runs Saved, tying Alex Bregman of the Cubs for the lead among all third basemen. That number matters in the Fielding Bible Award mix as well, so Chapman would have had a legitimate shot there too if he had stayed healthy.
Instead, the missed time likely takes him out of the running for either award. Still, the numbers underscore how unusual Chapman’s season was: a compromised, shortened year on offense, and yet another standout defensive performance from one of the best glove men of his era.
The 10-year veteran now has to work against a recent pattern. He used to be one of baseball’s most durable players, but he has now missed significant time in each of the last two seasons.
That’s the kind of wear that tends to show up as players get older, and Chapman will enter his age-34 season in 2027. He already owns five Gold Gloves and two Platinum Gloves, and even in a year cut short in late June, he was still producing at that level in the field.
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