The Oakland A’s have placed Matt Chapman on the 10-day injured list, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Chapman has been seeking a second opinion on his right hip tendinitis, per Slusser. Chapman will now undergo surgery on the hip on Monday, which will sideline the star third baseman for the rest of the season, per Martín Gallegos of MLB.com.
The news obviously comes as a blow to the division-leading Athletics. Chapman’s defense at the hot corner is a rare commodity, but paired with the thump of a .503 career slugging percentage and that’s a special player. For the season, Chapman’s triple slash of .232/.276/.535 is down a little from his career standards, primarily in the on-base department. A 10.3 BB% for his career has dwindled to 5.3 BB% this season, paired some additional swing-and-miss as well (35.5 K%).
With Chapman on the shelf, Chad Pinder and Vimael Machín figure to cover his spot in the field. Pinder covers just about every position on the diamond for the A’s, and with a triple slash of .231/.286/.404, his bat bring something similar to Chapman’s, but without the prodigious power. Machin, 26, made his major league debut this season. He hasn’t done much with the stick yet, slashing .204/.291/.224 over 55 plate appearances.
Seth Brown has been recalled to take his roster spot, the team announced. Brown put up a surprising 26-game stint in 2019 in which he slashed .293/.361/.453 across 83 plate appearances. He’s without a hit in four at-bats so far this season.
More must-reads: