Blue Jays And Athletics Complete Blockbuster

The Oakland Athletics have traded Matt Chapman to the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for Gunnar Hoglund, Kevin Smith, Zach Logue, and Kirby Snead.

The Blue Jays suddenly emerged as frontrunners for Chapman on Wednesday morning and now have already finalized a deal to get him. With this, they have added an elite fielder and power-hitting third baseman to their already impressive lineup. They are clearly committed to taking that next step this season.

In 151 games this past season, Chapman had 27 home runs, 72 RBIs, and a .210 batting average. Although he struggled to hit for contact, he still was effective with his power numbers. The 2019 All-Star will now be looking to thrive with Toronto.

Oakland is getting four new prospects from this deal, but the biggest out of the quartet is Hoglund. He was the team's 19th overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft, so he is understandably viewed as having a high ceiling. The A's are continuing to build a strong prospect pool and still have other veterans they are expected to trade before Opening Day, too.