SAN FRANCISCO -- Giants third baseman Matt Chapman wasn’t at full strength for most of his 2026 campaign.
The 33-year-old veteran suffered an abdominal strain during the Giants’ series at Cincinnati in mid-April, but he tried to play through the issue for several weeks before finally landing on the injured list on July 1. He initially hoped to return after missing a month, but his rehab hit a snag when he continued to feel discomfort while running.
A second MRI exam confirmed the lingering core muscle injury, which forced Chapman to undergo season-ending surgery with Dr. William Meyers in Philadelphia on Tuesday. Chapman said he tore the core muscle off his pubic bone on both sides, which had to be reattached during the procedure. He’ll spend the next eight to 12 weeks rehabbing, but he said he expects to have a normal offseason and be ready to go in 2027.
“It sucks that it had to happen like this,” Chapman said on Saturday. “I don't want to ever miss time, but to get it fixed and get it right so I can come back and help us next year was the best decision. I think sometimes these things are tricky to figure out what it is. But even if we would have found it right away, I think we probably would have tried to see if we could rehab it and see if we could get me back out on the field. After about four to five weeks of rehab, it didn't get any better. Going and seeing the doc, and then once he did the surgery and he was in there, he said it was the right decision to get surgery. I definitely needed it.”
Chapman, who’s in the second year of the six-year, $151 million contract extension he signed in September 2024, continued to excel on the defensive end, leading all Major League third basemen with 16 Defensive Runs Saved, according to FanGraphs. But the five-time Gold Glove Award winner acknowledged that the injury hampered his ability to consistently produce at the plate, as he batted .235 with a career-low .692 OPS and seven home runs over 84 games this season.
“I think that, regardless, I should have played better,” Chapman said. “But I think it makes sense in my head now why I felt like I couldn't consistently do things I wanted to do. I felt like every time that I started playing well, I wasn't able to keep it rolling. I got hot there in the middle of May and beginning of June, and then I couldn't keep it going.
“Obviously, I kind of blew out right towards the end of that. I just felt like I was probably dealing with it more than I knew, just because it's the center of your body. I was talking to the doctor, and he told me that a lot of people that get this fixed, it decreases your chances of injuries in the future.”
The Giants offloaded several key players at the Trade Deadline -- including left-hander Robbie Ray, second baseman Luis Arraez, outfielder Heliot Ramos and right-hander Tyler Mahle -- but they avoided a full teardown by retaining Chapman, first baseman Rafael Devers and shortstop Willy Adames.
That trio has underperformed to varying degrees this year, but the Giants will be counting on the group to rebound and help lead the club back into contention soon.
“We still have a lot of big goals for next season,” Chapman said. “I know [president of baseball operations] Buster [Posey] and the front office [do], too. I'll be ready to be part of that.”
Latest on Adames
Adames was out of the Giants’ starting lineup for the second straight day with a low back strain. The 30-year-old veteran has been listed as day to day, though manager Tony Vitello suggested that he might not return to action until the Giants’ next series at Cleveland, which begins Tuesday at Progressive Field.