Two facts have become apparent since the promotion of Michael Chavis: The 23-year-old rookie is legit, and his presence has added to an already crowded Red Sox infield.
Since the April 20 debut of Boston Red Sox top prospect Michael Chavis, he has been nothing short of on fire.
Slashing .270/.364/.548 with 10 home runs, 26 runs batted in, 18 runs scored and an OPS+ of 136, Chavis has emerged as an early front runner for the American League Rookie of the Year award.
Through his first 30 games, Chavis has shown his ability to hit from any position in Boston’s lineup, whether it be leadoff or the bottom of the order. He’s also filled in defensively where needed. Playing throughout the minor leagues as a third baseman, Chavis has primarily manned second base since his promotion, as well as the occasional day at either corner infield position.
Many in New England knew, regardless of Chavis’ performance, his debut in Boston only added to the potential logjam of infielders manager Alex Cora would have to contend with, once Dustin Pedroia and Brock Holt returned from their respective stints on the Injured List.
With Pedey in the twilight of his career, combined with numerous injury concerns, he is unlikely to return to a role as an everyday player upon his return.
Unlike the 2008 American League MVP, Holt represents a player with trade value prior to the July 31 deadline. Holt, the 2015 All-Star who turns 31 in less than three weeks, is an impending free agent after the 2019 season. The fan favorite ‘BrockStar’ has batted a respectable .265 with a .701 OPS in his seven-year career in Boston, often without a cemented role for the team and more as a super utility player capable of fielding any position asked of him.
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However, Chavis’ performance has likely thrown away the idea of a demotion following Holt’s return and will be another obstacle in finding any consistent playing time.
Once Holt is activated from the IL, he will likely to relegated to a bench role with Eduardo Nunez, finding at-bats only when a starter has a scheduled day off. With Chavis, Rafael Devers, Xander Bogaerts and the platoon of Mitch Moreland and Steve Pearce at first base, the infield is not going to be an area of concern for Boston in 2019, opening the possibility of dealing Holt. This potential move could be made not only to add an arm to the bullpen, something that could help Boston’s road to repeating as World Series Champions, but to also solidify Chavis’ starting position with the team.
When asked last week by MassLive’s Chris Cotillo on a scenario in which Chavis is demoted upon Holt and Pedroia’s return, Cora was less than commital in his answer:
"“Let’s wait for that,” he said. “When we have to make a decision, we’ll talk about that one.”"
Cora’s comments show that there is no concrete plan set in place for the near future of Boston’s infield.
We at Bosox Injection have spoken recently on why we believe Michael Chavis should remain in Boston for good. With Chavis set to be the future of the team, the time is coming for Cora and Red Sox President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski to determine if Brock Holt is going to part of the present, or the past.