The Blue Jays reinstated Chapman (finger) from the 10-day injured list Thursday.
A sprained finger forced Chapman onto the injured list Aug. 28, and he'll now return as Toronto's everyday third baseman after making significant progress in his recovery across the past few days. The 30-year-old was in a considerable slump at the plate before getting injured, slashing .197/.256/.276 since the beginning of August. Nathan Lukes was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo in a corresponding move.
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Blue Jays' Matt Chapman: Hopeful to return this week
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Chapman (finger) hopes to return later this week, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports.
He went through a full day of workouts, including making throws in the infield and hitting off a velocity machine. For weeks, he'd only been fielding groundballs, so advancing to making throws is a big step. In the meantime, Cavan Biggio and Santiago Espinal have been platooning at third base.
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Blue Jays' Matt Chapman: Workouts continue
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Chapman (finger) took groundballs, threw to bases and hit in the batting cage Monday, Ethan Diamandas of SI.com reports.
Chapman has been performing baseball activities for a few days, and he will repeat Monday's workout Tuesday. The report add that "it's about pain tolerance at this point" for Chapman, but he won't return from the 10-day injured list "until he can comfortably hit" against a high-velocity pitching machine.
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Blue Jays' Matt Chapman: Resumes baseball activity
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Chapman (finger) began hitting and throwing Friday, Kaitlyn McGrath of The Athletic reports.
Although Chapman is making progress in his recovery, the 30-year-old remains without a firm timetable for his return -- though he should still be able to play again before the end of the year. Chapman has been on the injured list since Aug. 28 with a sprained right middle finger.
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Blue Jays' Matt Chapman: Not ready to ramp up activities yet
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Chapman is still waiting for the swelling and inflammation in his right middle finger to go down before ramping up baseball activities, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.
Chapman is able to field grounders, but he's not clear to throw yet or swing a bat. He will be re-evaluated when the Blue Jays return home to Toronto on Friday. Presumably, the hope is that he will have made enough progress by then to ramp things up.
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Blue Jays' Matt Chapman: Hoping to swing bat this week
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Chapman (finger) said Sunday that he's hopeful to resuming swinging a bat and making throws with a baseball this week while the Blue Jays are in Oakland for a three-game series with the Athletics, Hazel Mae of Sportsnet reports.
Though Chapman noted that the swelling in his sprained right middle finger has gone down considerably since he landed on the 10-day injured list last Monday, he's still not able to make a fist with his hand. Chapman believes he'll regain more flexibility with the finger in the coming days, in which case he would be able to resume baseball activities. He still may have an outside shot at coming off the IL before next weekend's series with the Royals, though at this stage, Chapman's absence seems likelier to stretch into the following week.
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Blue Jays' Matt Chapman: Hits IL with sprained finger
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Chapman was placed on the 10-day injured list Monday with a right middle finger sprain.
Chapman initially suffered the injury two weeks ago in a weightlifting incident, and the issue flared up on him in Sunday's loss to the Guardians, necessitating an MRI. He batted just .152 while attempting to play through the injury. Santiago Espinal, Davis Schneider and Cavan Biggio are the likely candidates to pick up playing time while Chapman is out.
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Blue Jays' Matt Chapman: Gets MRI on finger
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Chapman underwent an MRI on his right middle finger after exiting in the sixth inning of Sunday's 10-7 loss to the Guardians, MLB.com reports.
Toronto lost both starters from the left side of the infield Sunday, as shortstop Bo Bichette left after five innings due to a sore right quadricep. Bichette's removal was described as precautionary, while Chapman's inflamed right middle finger is believed to be more of a concern since it's an aggravation of a previous injury he suffered two weeks earlier during a weightlifting accident. Chapman ended up missing three consecutive games initially after suffering the injury, but the Blue Jays likely won't have an update on how much time he might miss this time around until the results of his MRI are read. For now, the veteran third baseman can be viewed as day-to-day heading into Monday's series opener versus the Nationals.
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Blue Jays' Matt Chapman: Exits with finger injury
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Chapman was removed in the bottom of the sixth inning of Sunday's game against the Guardians due to an inflamed right middle finger. He went 0-for-1 with a walk prior to being lifted for a pinch hitter.
As Mike Wilner of the Toronto Star notes, the injury is to the same finger that Chapman pinched two weeks ago during an accident in the weight room. He ended up missing three straight games due to the injury before returning to the lineup Friday and starting in each of the last nine contests while going 5-for-32 with three walks against 14 strikeouts. The likes of Cavan Biggio, Santiago Espinal and Davis Schneider could all be in store for added opportunities in the Toronto infield during the upcoming week if either Chapman or Bo Bichette (quadricep) misses time due to the injury he sustained Sunday.
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Blue Jays' Matt Chapman: Back in lineup Friday
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Chapman (finger) is back in the lineup Friday versus the Reds.
Chapman will start at third base and bat fifth after missing a handful of games due to inflammation in his right middle finger. He's sporting a .796 OPS with 15 home runs and 49 RBI through 116 games (485 plate appearances) this season for Toronto.
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Blue Jays' Matt Chapman: Sitting again Tuesday
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Chapman (finger) is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game versus the Phillies.
The 30-year-old was scratched from Sunday's starting nine due to inflammation in his right middle finger, and he'll sit again Tuesday after Monday's team off day. The Blue Jays have another day off coming Thursday, so it's possible Chapman is also held out for Wednesday's series finale to provide a couple extra days of rest. Santiago Espinal is manning the hot corner and batting eighth Tuesday.
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Blue Jays' Matt Chapman: Scratched with finger injury
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Chapman was scratched from Toronto's lineup ahead of Sunday's game against the Cubs due to inflammation in his right middle finger, Mike Wilner of the Toronto Star reports.
The severity of Chapman's injury is unclear, but it is apparently enough to keep him out of Sunday's contest. The Blue Jays will take a closer look at him and should offer more information in the near future. Meanwhile, Santiago Espinal will slide over to third base in Chapman's place, and Paul DeJong will enter at shortstop.
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Blue Jays' Matt Chapman: Gets breather Tuesday
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Chapman is not in the lineup Tuesday at Cleveland.
Chapman will grab some physical and mental rest after going 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in Monday's series opener against the Guardians. Santiago Espinal is covering third base and batting eighth for the Blue Jays on Tuesday night.
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Blue Jays' Matt Chapman: Socks 15th homer
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Chapman went 2-for-4 with a walk, a double and a solo home run in Friday's 7-3 win over the Red Sox.
He capped a five-homer eruption from the Blue Jays offense with a ninth-inning shot off Richard Bleier. Chapman's white-hot start to the season has faded, but he's remained reasonably productive -- in 20 games since the All-Star break, he's slashing .243/.384/.457 with three of his 15 homers on the season.
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Blue Jays' Matt Chapman: Pops homer Monday
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Chapman went 1-for-4 with a solo home run, a walk and an additional run scored in Monday's 6-3 extra-innings win over the Dodgers.
Chapman's eighth-inning blast briefly gave the Blue Jays a 3-2 lead. He snapped a 12-game homer drought, though he was modestly productive by batting .263 (10-for-38) with 10 walks over that span. The third baseman is slugging .462 this season, his highest mark since 2020, but it's coming from an uptick in doubles to offset a relative lack of over-the-fence power. He's at 13 long balls, 43 RBI, 54 runs scored, three stolen bases and 31 doubles through 98 contests overall.
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Blue Jays' Matt Chapman: Homers, swipes bag in loss
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Chapman went 2-for-3 with a homer, a double, two RBI and two runs scored in Saturday's 7-6 loss to the Red Sox. He also stole a base.
Chapman's two-run blast in the bottom of the eighth brought the Blue Jays back within one run of the Red Sox, though the team's late comeback effort would ultimately fall short. The third baseman reached base three times in the contest and recorded his first multi-RBI game since June 11 against the Twins. It was also the first time in 13 games that Chapman didn't have at least one strikeout.
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Blue Jays' Matt Chapman: Not starting Sunday
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Chapman is not in the starting lineup for Sunday's game versus the Rangers.
Chapman has appeared in 70 of Toronto's 72 games thus far this season, but the third baseman will get a day off for the series finale against Texas on Sunday. Santiago Espinal will take over at third base and hit seventh while Chapman rests.
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Blue Jays' Matt Chapman: Slugs ninth homer
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Chapman went 1-for-3 with a home run and three RBI in Sunday's win over the Twins.
He took Louie Varland deep in the fifth inning for a two-run shot, helping fuel a Jays comeback from a 6-1 deficit. Chapman has predictably cooled off after his blistering start to the season, and over his last 20 games he's slashing just .194/.277/.417, albeit with four of his nine homers on the year.
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Blue Jays' Matt Chapman: Back in lineup Wednesday
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Chapman (toe) will start at third base and bat fifth in Wednesday's game against the Astros.
Chapman was unable to play in Tuesday's 5-1 win after he developed an infected ingrown toenail that was removed Monday. After testing out the toe in a pregame workout without incident, he'll be back at his usual spot in the field at the hot corner. Santiago Espinal will return to the bench with Chapman back in action.
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Blue Jays' Matt Chapman: Sits out with toenail issue
Rotowire
Chapman is not in Tuesday's lineup after having an infected ingrown toenail removed Monday, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports.
Ouch. While the experience was no doubt painful, Chapman figures to be ready to return to action soon following a little rest. Santiago Espinal is at third base Tuesday.
