Giants Superstar Matt Chapman Expected To Return at Crucial Time

The San Francisco Giants carried their ugly stretch to close out June into July, now losing seven of their last eight games.

Things at the hot corner went from bad to worse when Christian Koss was placed on the 10-day injured list Tuesday with a left hamstring strain.

That magnified the injuries piling up at third base, as the Giants are also without Casey Schmitt and Matt Chapman, the latter of whom has been out since June 8 with a sprain in his right hand.

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Luckily, there is encouraging news on that front with regards to Chapman, something San Francisco could use.

Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports that Giants skipper Bob Melvin is expecting Chapman to return for their six-game homestand that begins next week on July 7 against the Philadelphia Phillies.

While Melvin doesn’t want to be hasty with the rehab process to avoid issues in the second half, the speed at which Chapman is progressing led Melvin to go as far as to say that he wouldn’t be shocked with a return as early as this weekend against the Athletics.

Even if he doesn’t break into the lineup this weekend, Chapman’s return will be more than welcome with a tough stretch against the Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers on the horizon.

Melvin liked how Chapman was “letting it go” in the cage on Tuesday, which came in addition to the star third baseman also going through a full defensive workout.

"But we also have to stay on what we feel is the right timetable," Melvin said. "We take direction from the training staff and try to calm him down along the way as well."

In the meantime, San Francisco will continue to deploy Wilmer Flores at third base after he started at the position for the first time in 14 months on Tuesday night against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

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In addition, Melvin plans to use a patchwork-type approach and also use Brett Wisely in the role.

Flores has substantially more experience at the position than Wisely, who only has six career at-bats in three games at third base.

In 2023, Flores played third base for the Giants in 22 games, with 251 career games and 848 at-bats.

That will have to suffice for the last game of the series against the Diamondbacks and possibly their away series against the Athletics—though the latter hasn't been ruled out.

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The short-term hole at the hot corner likely plays into Melvin’s decision, as he was hesitant to utilize Flores there while LaMonte Wade Jr. struggled heavily so as not to wear him down.

Rafael Devers isn’t expected to be an option at his natural role—though they’ve discussed the possibility—due to dealing with groin and back tightness.

The best bet there is to get Devers settled out of a hitting slump while the patchwork usage of Flores and Wisely is sufficient enough before their five-time Gold Glover returns.

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