SF Giants place Gold Glover Matt Chapman on IL with hand injury

The Giants won’t have Gold Glove third baseman Matt Chapman for key National League West trip against the Rockies and the Dodgers that begins tonight in Colorado.

Chapman, the Giants’ best position player, was placed on the 10-day injured list with right hand inflammation, San Francisco announced Tuesday morning. Infielder Christian Koss was recalled from Triple-A Sacramento.

Chapman, 32, injured his hand Sunday while sliding back to first base during the Giants’ 4-3 win over the Atlanta Braves. This is the first time Chapman has landed on the injured list since August 2023 with the Toronto Blue Jays. The five-time gold glover played in 154 games last season, his first with the Giants.

The Giants have won five straight games since Buster Posey shook up the team’s roster, but the offense has remained subpar. During this five-game winning streak, the Giants have scored 21 runs while posting a .200 batting average and .583 OPS.

Now they will try to keep their winning streak alive — and head into this weekend’s series against the Dodgers — without one of the hotter bats. Since May, Chapman is hitting .282/.364/.516 with seven home runs and 14 RBIs. He hit a walk-off two-run home run to beat the Braves 3-2 on Saturday.

Casey Schmitt likely will hold down third base while Chapman is out.

Schmitt has been an above-average defender at third base during his major league career, totaling three defensive runs saved and three outs above average. This season, Schmitt has a .180 batting average and .521 OPS over 20 games.

Koss has a .541 OPS with one home run and eight RBIs over 29 games for the Giants this season but has rated out an excellent defender (four defensive runs saved). He was optioned last Wednesday as part of the roster shakeup and played two games with Sacramento before being recalled.

Check back for more on this developing story.