Matt Chapman Undergoes Surgery on Shoulder Injury; Can't Swing for 6 Weeks

Oakland Athletics third baseman Matt Chapman underwent surgery on his left shoulder Friday and won't be able to swing a bat for approximately six weeks.

The A's announced the update and noted it was the second offseason surgery for Chapman, who had a procedure on his right thumb in October.

Chapman backed up a solid rookie year in 2017—which featured 14 home runs in 84 games—with a terrific all-around campaign.

The 25-year-old Cal State Fullerton product posted a .278/.356/.508 slash line with 24 homers across 145 appearances. He also led all qualified MLB fielders with 29 defensive runs saved, eight more than the next-highest players (Andrelton Simmons and Nick Ahmed), per FanGraphs.

Pairing those two facets of his game with his above-average baserunning skills, the end result was the sixth-highest WAR in the American League.

Despite multiple accolades for his work on the field, including the Wilson Defensive Player of the Year award as the top fielder in all of MLB, he lamented his 20 errors following the regular season.

"Definitely proud of it, but a lot of room to get better, I think," he told reporters. "I made too many errors for my liking. But our defense has gotten just better and better, and I think it goes for the amount of work our coaches help us with positioning and the extra work they do with ground balls or whatever it is, and the guys' on our team work ethic."

A six-week timetable would allow him to swing a bat again by early February, just before the start of spring training.

So, while the A's may bring him along slowly during the initial stages of the exhibition slate after his two offseason surgeries, he should be ready for Opening Day barring any setbacks.