With all of the chatter about MLB players allegedly not wanting to play in San Francisco, the Giants certainly have signed their fair share of free agents with spring training underway.
The latest of those new additions is third baseman Matt Chapman, who signed a contract with the Giants that was announced as a one-year, $18 million deal, though the 30-year-old could choose to play in San Francisco for the next four seasons.
During his introductory press conference Monday in Scottsdale, Ariz., Chapman told reporters he couldn't see why anyone wouldn't want to play in San Francisco.
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"I chose to come here," Chapman said. "I think everybody's different, everybody has different things that matter to them, but I'm from California. I played in the Bay Area. I'm comfortable here. And people say what they say, but I think at the end of the day when you look at the franchise, they want to win. They've won before. They know how to do it.
"They have great players, great coaches. So, I don't see why people wouldn't want to come here, and I know that a lot of people have reached out and said they want to come play here and told me that. So I think if that's a narrative, it's going to change."
Opinions about the negative stereotype surrounding the city of San Francisco -- whether fair or not -- picked back up in December when former Giants catcher Buster Posey stated that perception might be impacting the team's free-agency efforts during an interview with The Athletic's Andrew Baggarly.
Chapman, who played for the Oakland Athletics for the first five seasons of his seven-year MLB career, said he hopes to help attract players to play for the Giants in the Bay.
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"I don't think I have to necessarily change anything," Chapman said. "I think that ... like I said, I guess it depends on the person. But I know guys would want to play with some of the guys here, and guys want to play with me -- guys who told me they would come and play with me where I'm at. So, obviously we'd love to be here long term.
"That's something I can see for myself, and I would definitely bring players in any way I could and make this team as competitive as possible."
After signing Chapman, Jung Hoo Lee, Jorge Soler and others, the Giants ended up finding several talented free agents who were more than happy to play in San Francisco. Whether or not they add any more, however, remains to be seen -- but perhaps Chapman already is contributing to his new team behind the scenes.
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