Chapman 'a happy guy' with security, hot spring

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Life is good for Matt Chapman.

The third baseman is off and running this spring, putting up colossal numbers following a 2024 season in which he led the Giants in home runs (27) and RBIs (78) while ranking second with 15 stolen bases.

The 31-year-old has been unstoppable in Spring Training, both at the plate and on the field. He is batting .529 (9-for-17) in Cactus League play, with four home runs, nine RBIs and a stolen base. He also has flashed the leather, giving fans the highlight-reel plays they have grown accustomed to seeing from the five-time Gold Glove winner.

Chapman’s hot start is a far cry from just one season ago, when he was a late arrival to camp after signing a one-year deal with the Giants in early March. Fast forward to 2025, and his future is more secure than ever after he signed a six-year, $151 million contract extension last September.

“All that stuff is behind me,” Chapman said. “Now I just get to play and be a part of this team and organization for a long time. It's the best thing that has ever happened to me in the baseball world.”

The stability offered by the long-term deal has been invaluable as Chapman approached Spring Training in 2025. He spent the offseason training at the Giants’ Papago Park Player Development Center in Phoenix, where he said he worked on fine-tuning the elements that were really clicking last year.

No big adjustments. No earth-shattering changes. Just perfecting his timing and pitch selection.

“Obviously, throughout the course of the season, there are adjustments and ups and downs,” Chapman said. “But I think I've got a good baseline that I can build off of. It always helps for these swings to come back, too."

Giants manager Bob Melvin has seen the infielder’s maturation firsthand since Chapman made his Major League debut with the Athletics in June 2017. Melvin, who managed the A’s for 11 seasons from 2011-2021, said Chapman’s development has been rewarding to watch.

“I’ve been with him forever,” Melvin said. “I’m really happy on a personal level that he’s accomplished a lot of the things that he wanted to do. … I’m thrilled for him.”

Chapman has shown early chemistry with new shortstop Willy Adames, who signed a seven-year deal with the Giants in December. Between Adames at short and Chapman’s mastery at the hot corner, San Francisco is set to have one of the top left sides in the Majors for the foreseeable future.

The two are still working on familiarity with each other, but Chapman said the early returns are just a glimpse of how dominant that side of the infield can be.

“I think we're going to be able to try to cover the whole left side,” Chapman said. “If I'm taking the six-hole, he's able to be up the middle like that and get all the balls up the middle. We're just trying to spread it out as much as we can and get used to kind of playing with each other."

Melvin said Chapman’s attitude and commitment have shone through as the offseason shifted to Spring Training, and that approach is paying off both at the plate and in the field.

Chapman has a long list of accomplishments, but he is in one of the best stretches -- if not the best stretch -- of his professional career.

“I think he’s just in a really good place, maybe as good as he’s ever been in his baseball career,” Melvin said. “He’s a happy guy and showing those types of results right now.”

So much so, in fact, that the regular season can’t come soon enough.

“I wouldn't be [ticked] if tomorrow was Opening Day,” Chapman said. “I'm feeling pretty good."

MLB.com reporter Maria Guardado contributed to this story.