Chapman arrives at Jays camp with plenty to prove

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SARASOTA, Fla. — Asked to describe his whirlwind past few days and the trade that landed him in Toronto Blue Jays camp, Matt Chapman scanned his new surroundings at the club’s player development complex in Dunedin.

“Is today Friday?” the new Jays third baseman asked honestly. “I think I found out Wednesday. It happened in a flash.”

That’s how most around baseball feel these days, as a hectic week post-lockout has produced blockbuster trades, signings, and, oh yeah, baseball games started Friday, too. The Jays were busy packing the bus for a trip to Sarasota to face the Baltimore Orioles in the Grapefruit League opener as Chapman was talking to the media.

A lot has been happening and the Jays have been right in the thick of it all.

While the driving force behind the Chapman trade was his all-world glove and filling a gaping hole at third base, there are questions surrounding what kind of impact he can have with the bat.

Questions that Chapman is eager to start answering another year removed from September 2020 hip surgery.

“Last year was a tough year for me,” Chapman said. “Coming off that hip surgery in 2020, I just wasn’t quite as strong as I wanted to be. And there’s never enough time to get ready for a season when you’re rehabbing like that after a shortened off-season with my hip.

“I learned a lot from last season and learned what will make me successful and what adjustments I needed to make. I got strong again, first things first. I learned how to get into using my back hip and stay behind the baseball again. I feel a lot like I did in 2018 and 2019, physically healthy.”

That should be music to the Jays’ front office’s ears, and something that must be factored in to

his down numbers over the past