Mar 16, 2022 4 min read

All-Star third baseman Matt Chapman was acquired by the Toronto Blue Jays from the payroll-shredding Oakland Athletics for four players on Wednesday.

A five-year veteran and three-time Gold Glove winner, Chapman hit .201 with 27 home runs and 72 RBIs in 151 games for the Athletics last season. He was a first-time All-Star in 2019.

“He’s a big-time threat on both sides of the ball and that’s hard to find,” Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins said of Chapman from spring training in Dunedin, Florida.

Chapman won Platinum Gloves as the best defensive player in the AL, regardless of position, in 2018 and 2019.

Since the end of the lockout, the A’s also dealt All-Star righty Chris Bassitt to the New York Mets and first baseman Matt Olson to Atlanta. The three trades cut Oakland’s projected payroll by about $30 million.

“You see what was happening around here,” Chapman said of Oakland. “It’s sad to leave, but it’s happy to go somewhere where it’s going to be an incredible opportunity. A lot of emotions, but I think it’s going to be an amazing next couple of years.”

Oakland received right-hander Gunnar Hoglund, Toronto’s top pick in the 2021 amateur draft, minor league left-hander Zach Logue, left-handed reliever Kirby Snead, and infielder Kevin Smith.

After choosing college over the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 2018 amateur draft, Hoglund went 10-5 in three seasons at Mississippi before signing with Toronto last summer. He had elbow ligament replacement surgery in May 2021 and has not pitched as a professional.

COVID issues remain: The cardboard cutouts are long gone. Same with all that phony, pumped-in stadium noise. For players, there’s no more face masks in dugouts or clubhouses. Far less spitting into testing cups, too.

Yet, amid COVID-19 restrictions in Canada and New York, one thing has become clear over the past week while baseball speeds toward the 2022 season:

“Life is not back to normal yet,” Yankees reliever Zack Britton said.

Fans of the Yankees and Mets were shaken Tuesday by confirmation from New York City that the same private employer vaccine mandate that has sidelined NBA star Kyrie Irving for Brooklyn Nets’ home games would also apply at the outdoor baseball parks in the Bronx and Queens.

That concern ratcheted to another level after Yankees star Aaron Judge took a hard side-step when asked Tuesday if he was vaccinated.

The Mets also could be seriously affected. Last year, they were among six teams that did not reach the 85% vaccination rate among on-field staff, including players, necessary for relaxed virus protocols under Major League Baseball’s health and safety plan.

The union and league agreed as part of a new labor contract settled last week that unvaccinated players won’t receive pay or service time if they miss games in Toronto against the Blue Jays because of Canada’s vaccine requirement for entry. The boarder issues have led to speculation about an unusual homefield advantage for the Jays.

Boston ace left-hander Chris Sale said he has chosen to remain unvaccinated, but he’ll miss Boston’s first visit to Toronto from April 25-28 anyway because of a stress fracture in his rib cage.

DH upgrade: Kyle Schwarber agreed to a four-year deal with the Philadelphia Phillies worth about $80 million.

A 29-year-old slugging outfielder, Schwarber split last season with Washington and Boston. He hit .266 with 32 home runs and belted a grand slam for the Red Sox in the AL Championship Series.

Cubs add Japanese star: The Chicago Cubs and star Japanese outfielder Seiya Suzuki have agreed to an $85-million, five-year deal, a person familiar with the situation told the AP, speaking on condition of anonymity because the deal was pending a physical.

The 27-year-old Suzuki was a five-time All-Star and Gold Glove winner over nine seasons with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp of Japan’s Central League. He batted .317 with 38 home runs and 88 RBIs in 132 games last season and had nearly as many walks (87) as strikeouts (88). He is a career .315 hitter with 182 homers and 562 RBIs for Hiroshima.