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Third baseman Matt Chapman and the San Francisco Giants agreed to a six-year, $151 million contract extension late Wednesday, keeping the veteran from opting out of his current deal to reach free agency.

The deal, which starts in 2025 and replaces the last two years of a three-year, $54 million contract he signed earlier this year, includes no deferred money and a full no-trade clause, sources told ESPN. The deal will expire in 2030, when Chapman will be 37.

Chapman, 31, has been one of the most productive players in baseball this season, combining a powerful bat with the best third-base defense in the major leagues. And less than a year after his market in free agency cratered, Chapman parlayed his strong season into a significant payday — and guaranteed himself more than $170 million between this season and the end of the extension.

It’s a stunning turnabout from the winter, when Chapman’s free agency dragged and landed him in San Francisco. All three years of his contract included opt-outs at the end, and Chapman went into spring training saying he wanted to bet on himself rather than take a lesser long-term deal.

The bet paid off.

“This offseason was a little strange with the free-agent market, but I was willing to bet on myself,” Chapman said during a news conference Thursday. “I believed in myself. I believed that the Giants would see my value as the season went on and what I bring every single day.”

Chapman was scratched from the starting lineup Wednesday, missing just his fourth game this season to work on finalizing the contract.

“Obviously, it was pretty important to get this thing done,” Chapman said. “We got it done, and now chances are I’m not going to be watching very much.”

Chapman was back in the lineup on Thursday, batting cleanup against Arizona. Giants manager Bob Melvin, who also managed Chapman in Oakland, said that the 31-year-old has become a clubhouse leader.

“We have some younger guys here that are learning their way and developing right now, and they watch the way he plays the game,” Melvin said. “There’s an expectation of how it needs to be played and he’s setting the example of that and guys have to fall in line.”

With a .247/.333/.445 line, Chapman has an adjust OPS 21% better than league average. His 22 home runs and 56 extra-base hits lead the Giants. And his glove, golden four times already, could be platinum-worthy this season.

All of it put him near the top of wins above replacement leaderboards throughout the game. His 6.0 Baseball-Reference WAR are the ninth most in baseball. At FanGraphs, it’s 4.5 WAR, 13th among position players. It’s reminiscent of the seasons that gave Chapman his first two Gold Gloves and his only All-Star appearance.

When he arrived in Oakland in 2017, Chapman had showcased power in the minor leagues that later would put him among the game’s exit-velocity giants. Chapman’s ability to hit the ball extremely hard — he’s 98th percentile in bat speed and 96th in average exit velocity — has persisted, and it gave the Giants the sort of confidence to pay him late into his 30s.

It was also a deal of necessity. At 68-72, the Giants are again one of baseball’s most disappointing teams. San Francisco has settled around .500 each of the past three seasons after a 107-win campaign in 2021, and it has left fans disenchanted and loud about potential changes inside the organization.

With president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi negotiating the contract with Chapman’s agent, Scott Boras, he doubled down on one of the successes of his winter. Another, left-hander Blake Snell, is likewise a Boras client expected to opt out of his deal and sign for a significantly larger number than the $60 million San Francisco guaranteed him for two years over the winter.

“The game rewards players like this,” Boras said.

Zaidi said conversations with Chapman began two-to-three weeks ago.

“We’re a team that’s trying to compete every year,” Zaidi said. “When we have an opportunity to get a great player who’s willing to bet on himself, that’s always an attractive proposition to us. And that’s what Matt did. He bet on himself and he got a very deserving reward today.”

Zaidi did not engage Thursday when asked about questions surrounding his future with the Giants.

Chapman joins a core that now includes right-hander Logan Webb (signed through 2028), center fielder Jung Hoo Lee (2029) and a cadre of young players who have shown flashes of excellence at points throughout the season: center fielder Heliot Ramos, catcher Patrick Bailey, shortstop Tyler Fitzgerald and left-hander Kyle Harrison.

A California native, Chapman said he feels comfortable in the Bay Area. He batted back concerns that San Francisco is not an attractive place for free agents, sharing other players have reached out about joining the Giants after news of his new deal.

“I don’t think it’s going to be a hard sell,” Chapman said. “This organization is amazing. They do everything they can for the players. We have a lot of good players. I think that we’re going to continue to build here. I think that people will see that from the outside and I don’t see that ever being an issue.”

Now that Chapman is off the market, a free agent class not teeming with high-end offensive options thins out even more. New York Yankees outfielder Juan Soto is the prize of the group, and after Chapman’s signing, third base-hungry teams will turn their attention toward another Boras client, Alex Bregman. Teams that could be in the market for a third baseman include Bregman’s current team, Houston, as well as the New York Mets (if Pete Alonso leaves and Mark Vientos moves to first), the Yankees, Seattle and Toronto.

Other top free agent bats include Alonso, Milwaukee shortstop Willy Adames, Baltimore outfielder Anthony Santander, Arizona first baseman Christian Walker and Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernandez.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Sale, Crochet named comeback players of year

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Sale, Crochet named comeback players of year

LAS VEGAS — Left-handers Chris Sale of the Atlanta Braves and Garrett Crochet of the Chicago White Sox won Major League Baseball’s Comeback Player of the Year awards on Thursday.

Cleveland right-hander Emmanuel Clase won his second AL Reliever of the Year award and St. Louis righty Ryan Helsley won the NL honor.

Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani joined David Ortiz as the only players to win four straight Outstanding Designated Hitter awards. Ohtani and the New York YankeesAaron Judge won Hank Aaron Awards as the outstanding offensive performers in their leagues.

Major League Baseball made the announcements at its All-MLB Awards Show.

Sale, 35, was 18-3 with a 2.38 ERA and 225 strikeouts in 177⅔ innings for the NL’s first pitching triple crown since the Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw in 2011. He earned his eighth All-Star selection and first since 2018.

Sale helped Boston to the 2018 World Series title but made just 56 starts from 2020-23, going 17-18 with a 4.86 ERA, 400 strikeouts and 79 walks over 298⅓ innings. He was acquired by Boston from the White Sox in December 2016 and made nine trips to the injured list with the Red Sox, mostly with shoulder and elbow ailments. He had Tommy John surgery on March 30, 2020, and returned to a big league mound on Aug. 14, 2021.

Sale fractured a rib while pitching in batting practice in February 2022 during the management lockout. On July 17, in his second start back, he broke his left pinkie finger when he was hit by a line drive off the bat of the Yankees’ Aaron Hicks. Sale broke his right wrist while riding a bicycle en route to lunch on Aug. 6, ending his season.

Crochet, 25, was 6-12 with a 3.58 ERA over 32 starts for a White Sox team that set a post-1900 record of 121 losses, becoming a first-time All-Star. He struck out 209 and walked 33 in 146 innings.

He had Tommy John surgery on April 5, 2022, and returned to the major leagues on May 18, 2023. Crochet had a 3.55 ERA in 13 relief appearances in 2023, and then joined the rotation this year.

Sale and Crochet were chosen in voting by MLB.com beat writers.

Clase and Helsley were unanimous picks by a panel that included Hall of Famers Trevor Hoffman, Mariano Rivera, Dennis Eckersley and Rollie Fingers, along with John Franco and Billy Wagner. The AL award is named after Rivera and the NL honor after Hoffman.

A three-time All-Star, Clase was 4-2 with a 0.61 ERA, 66 strikeouts and 10 walks in 74⅓ innings, holding batters to a .154 average. The 26-year-old converted 47 of 50 save chances, including his last 47.

Voting was based on the regular season. Clase was 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA in the playoffs, allowing three home runs, one more than his regular-season total.

Helsley, a two-time All-Star, was 7-4 with a 2.04 ERA and 49 saves in 53 chances. He struck out 79 and walked 23 in 66⅓ innings.

Ohtani became the first player with 50 or more homers and 50 or more stolen bases in a season. A two-way star limited to hitting following elbow surgery, Ohtani batted .310 and led the NL with 54 homers and 130 RBIs while stealing 59 bases.

Ortiz won the DH award five years in a row from 2003-07.

The DH award, named after Edgar Martinez, is picked in voting by team beat writers, broadcasters and public relations departments. MLB.com writers determined the finalists for the Aaron awards, and a fan vote was combined with picks from a panel of Hall of Famers and former winners to determine the selections.

Judge led the major leagues with 58 homers and 144 RBIs while hitting .322.

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QB Castellanos exits after losing BC starting job

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QB Castellanos exits after losing BC starting job

Boston College quarterback Thomas Castellanos, who lost his starting job earlier this week, will not be returning to the team, he announced Thursday night.

Castellanos, who started 12 games last season and retained the top job under new coach Bill O’Brien, wrote on X that “unfortunately, all good things come to an end, even though it’s sooner than I would like.” He did not mention the transfer portal in his departing message and has not officially entered it. The junior from Waycross, Georgia, started his career at UCF and appeared in five games in 2022.

O’Brien said Tuesday that Grayson James, who replaced Castellanos in last week’s win against Syracuse, will start Saturday when Boston College visits No. 14 SMU. Castellanos “wasn’t real thrilled” with the decision, O’Brien said, adding that the quarterback decided to step away from the team for several days.

Castellanos had 2,248 passing yards and 1,113 rushing yards last season under coach Jeff Hafley, passing for 15 touchdowns and adding 13 on the ground. He had 18 touchdown passes and only five interceptions this season, but his accuracy dipped in recent weeks, and he completed only 2 of 7 passes against Syracuse before being replaced.

In his statement, Castellanos thanked both coaching staffs he played for at Boston College and wrote that he had “some of the best experiences of my life in the Eagles Nest and I will truly cherish these memories forever.”

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Gators’ Lagway ‘ready to play,’ will start vs. LSU

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Gators' Lagway 'ready to play,' will start vs. LSU

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida quarterback DJ Lagway is “ready to play,” coach Billy Napier said Thursday on his weekly radio show.

Napier removed Lagway from the team’s injury report and penciled him in to start against No. 21 LSU in the Swamp on Saturday.

Lagway practiced every day this week while progressing from a strained left hamstring. The highly touted freshman was carted off the field against Georgia on Nov. 2. Tests revealed a “less significant” injury than initially feared, and now he’s back in time to face the Tigers.

The Gators (4-5, 2-4 Southeastern Conference) need him. They have to win two of their final three regular-season games to become bowl eligible.

LSU (6-3, 3-2) has struggled mightily against dual-threat QBs, including Alabama’s Jalen Milroe, who ran for 185 yards and four touchdowns last week.

Lagway returns after walk-on and Yale transfer Aidan Warner started in his place against Texas. Warner threw two interceptions and was 12-of-25 passing for 132 yards in a 49-17 loss.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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