Matt Chapman To Miss Remainder Of 2020 Season Due To Hip Surgery
Sep 14, 2020, 8:50 AM | Updated: 10:12 am
(Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
The Athletics will be without their Platinum Glove Award winner for the rest of the season
The Oakland Athletics were dealt a big blow over the weekend, as All-Star third-baseman Matt Chapman will miss the rest of the season due to an injured hip.
Per Susan Slusser of San Francisco Chronicle, Chapman will undergo surgery to repair his injured hip–an injury that his super-agent Scott Boras says is a torn hip labrum.
Chapman, a two-time Platinum Glove Award winner, was hitting .232 with 10 home runs and 25 RBI over 37 games this season.
While Chapman has shown power and his ability to drive in runs, he will be sorely missed on the defensive side as the A’s march towards a postseason run.
Since 2017 when Chapman made his debut, the slick-fielding third-baseman leads all of baseball with 82 defensive runs saved, per Slusser.
Oakland acquired infielder and 2019 All-Star Tommy La Stella from the Los Angeles Angels in August, a move that could provide insurance down the stretch. Over 13 games with the Athletics, La Stella is hitting .286 with one home run and eight RBI.
With utility-man Chad Pinder also going onto the injured list with a hamstring strain, the Athletics are closing in on signing 2017 All-Star infielder Jake Lamb.
Lamb, who hit 59 home runs and drove in 196 runs from 2016-2017, has struggled since having a 2018 shoulder surgery that repaired a fraying rotator cuff.
Since the 2018 season, Lamb has hit 12 home runs and driven in 62 runs over 514 plate appearances.
Oakland will likely use Lamb at third and La Stella at second base down the stretch as they keep their sights set on a deep postseason run. ‘
The A’s (29-17) currently own a 6.5 game lead over the second-place Houston Astros with 14 games remaining.