Giants Place Matt Chapman On Injured List

The Giants announced they’ve placed third baseman Matt Chapman on the 10-day injured list with an abdominal strain. Utilityman Christian Koss is up from Triple-A Sacramento to take his place on the active roster.

Chapman suffered the injury in last night’s loss in Arizona. He charged and made a nice barehand play to retire Gabriel Moreno on a high chopper to end the sixth inning. Chapman was in some discomfort as he made his way to the dugout. He took an at-bat in the top of the seventh, popped out to first, and left the game. Luis Arraez moved to third base for the final few innings, his first action at the hot corner in four years. Jonah Cox, an outfielder, finished the game at second base.

Manager Tony Vitello told reporters (including Justice delos Santos of The San Jose Mercury News) that it’s a mild strain. He suggested Chapman could return before the All-Star Break, which would essentially require a minimal stint. Even if the Giants keep him down through the Break, that bodes well for his chances of being reinstated for the start of the second half. Chapman was going to end up on paternity leave this week regardless, and the Giants have already been playing shorthanded in the infield as Willy Adames nurses back spasms.

Adames is out again tonight, so Koss draws into the lineup at shortstop. Casey Schmitt moves to third base. They’re playing without a backup infielder, meaning Cox would presumably come off the bench if they have another emergency situation. Adames could be back in the lineup on Friday as the Giants kick off a series at Coors Field.

San Francisco is 15 games under .500. Minor injuries for Chapman and Adames don’t change much in the overall course of the season. It’s another minor impediment to what already looked like a long shot possibility that they’d find a taker for Chapman on the trade front. He’s playing on a $25MM salary and guaranteed $100MM from 2027-30. Chapman has a full no-trade clause and is hitting .235/.324/.368 across 352 plate appearances while playing his usual plus defense.