Report: Posey took over Giants’ Chapman contract talks

Report: Posey took over Giants’ Chapman contract talks originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Giants fans and the organization alike celebrated earlier this month when Matt Chapman signed a six-year, $151 million contract extension that will keep him with San Francisco through the 2030 MLB season.

As one of the brightest spots in a otherwise subpar 2024 season for the team, securing the Gold Glove third baseman long-term ahead of his chance to opt out later this year certainly was important to the fan base — and the Giants’ executive board, led by former catcher Buster Posey.

But with extension talks between Chapman and the Giants beginning in mid-August, the team’s ownership group eventually felt forced to take action amid frustration with president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi and Chapman’s agent, Scott Boras, The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly reported Sunday, citing sources.

Posey even went so far as to personally work with Chapman on the contract’s structure, Baggarly also reported, citing sources, ensuring the full no-trade clause that wasn’t included by Zaidi in the Giants’ original proposal was there, per Baggarly.

“It was an ownership group that viewed re-signing Chapman as a slam dunk — and did not trust Zaidi and Boras to finish at the rim,” Baggarly wrote.

Posey and the ownership group’s impatience is understandable — Boras previously engaged in standoffs with not only the Giants, but other MLB teams for the services of his clients, which also include Blake Snell, this offseason in search of bigger deals.

While the Giants eventually signed both Chapman and Snell, the team fell woefully short of expectations this season. But Chapman emerged as a leader in San Francisco with 24 home runs and a .777 OPS to match so far — something Posey certainly admired from his prominent place within the organization. Now, Chapman is a building block for the future in San Francisco.

“Locking down Matt Chapman is huge for us,” Posey told NBC Sports Bay Area’s George Kontos in a recent interview that aired Sept. 10. “I was such a huge fan of his when I played against him. Getting to watch him this whole season, [I’m] even more of a fan. He’s the type of guy you want on the field because you know he is going to bust his tail every single day. He’s going to do everything he can do to be on the field.

“Not to mention, he’s supremely talented. But a guy who’s just willing to post out there, I just have so much respect and value for a player like that.”

While Posey’s involvement did stem from ownership’s impatience with Zaidi, it also allowed the Giants to avoid interference from Boras, who was telling Chapman that San Francisco’s offer could be “a potential floor” in MLB free agency this winter, Baggarly reported, citing sources — a luxury Zaidi didn’t have as president of baseball operations.

In comments to Baggarly, Zaidi characterized Posey’s involvement as “not unusual.”

“I viewed myself and ownership working in total sync,” Zaidi told Baggarly. “This was a priority to get done. I’d expect them to be heavily involved in a deal of this magnitude and they were.”

In the previously mentioned interview with Kontos, Posey made it clear that the Giants’ ownership group isn’t satisfied with the team’s recent performance, stating, “No question, I don’t think anybody’s happy with where we are.”

That being said, it appears as if Posey is willing to roll up his own sleeves and do the work himself to get the Giants back to the franchise he knows they can be.

Download and follow the Giants Talk Podcast