Yahoo Sports Athletics World Series hopes take a hit with Matt Chapman's season-ending hip injury
If the Oakland Athletics want to win their first World Series championship since 1989, they’ll have to do it without their best all-around position player.
On Saturday, the team announced that third baseball Matt Chapman is out for the season. The 2019 All-Star is set to have hip surgery on Monday.
The A's announce they’ve placed 3B Matt Chapman on the 10-day injured list. Chapman will undergo surgery on Monday. He’s out for the season.
— Alex Coffey (@byalexcoffey) September 12, 2020
Chapman, 27, finishes the season with 10 home runs and 25 RBIs in 37 games this season. His .812 OPS ranks third on the team behind Robbie Grossman and Sean Murphy.
As usual, Chapman has provided elite-level defense at the hot corner. Just four years into his MLB career, he’s already a two-time Gold Glove winner and a Platinum Glove winner, signifying he’s viewed as the best defensive player in the entire American League.
His absence will hurt an Athletics team that has World Series aspirations. Entering play on Saturday, Oakland holds the AL’s best record at 28-15. They also hold a seven-game lead over the Houston Astros in the AL West standings.
Making the postseason won’t be an issue for Oakland. Advancing to the ALDS could be, however. The Athletics figure to be a top seed, but could end up facing the Houston Astros, New York Yankees or Minnesota Twins in MLB’s newly-added best-of-three series to open the playoffs.
Oakland hasn’t played in the ALDS since 2013. They have lost three wild card games during that time, including the 2018 and 2019 seasons when they won 97 games.
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