Red Sox News: Michael Chavis recalled as Christian Arroyo goes to the IL
Michael Chavis gets another shot to impress the Red Sox
As we gear up for the series finale against the Tampa Bay Rays tonight the Red Sox have made a pair of roster moves to finish out the month of June. Christian Arroyo suffered a right knee contusion after colliding with outfielder Kiké Hernández on Sunday and is heading to the 10-day IL. To fill his spot on the main roster Boston has recalled Michael Chavis from Triple-A Worcester. This will be his fourth time with the big club this season and could be his best chance at making an impact.
Going into 2021, Chavis and Arroyo were in a heated battle during spring training for the open second base slot in the lineup. Christian would win the battle with Chavis being one of the last to be cut before the regular season kicked off. Since then the Ice Horse has produced in Worcester while making occasional trips to Boston. With the trade deadline just over a month away this visit to Fenway could have big implications for Chavis.
While with the Woo Sox, Chavis has amassed a .263/.327/.474/.801 line with six homers and 17 RBI through 24 games. He’s done a solid job of mirroring that quality with the Red Sox and owns a .273/.273/.485/.758 slash with a homer and two RBI in 11 games. Of his 34 hits between Triple-A and the big leagues, 13 are for extra bases. He’s proven that he can hang at this level but everyone in the league knows that his weakness is the high heat and he’ll surely be seeing plenty of them in the next 10 days.
My reasoning for bringing up the trade deadline before, and it’s something I’ve written about before, Ice Horse is the odd man out. We know that Bloom has no issues with trading away players if he can find value in a return. The positions that he specializes in are all filled and mostly with guys that are better than him at those spots. If there is to be a saving grace for Chavis it’ll come in the way of the fledgling Danny Santana.
If Santana continues to be absolutely miserable in the lineup it could force Chaim to DFA him, freeing up a long-term spot for Chavis. Everything will depend on how he handles this latest promotion and if he can show that he belongs with the big club. If he succeeds but Santana rebounds from this slump we may be seeing Chavis dealt at the deadline.
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For Arroyo, this is heartbreaking but hopefully won’t have any long-term effects on his 2021 season. The second baseman has been absolutely white-hot for the Red Sox and is one of their most clutch players when the game is on the line. Look no further than his recent homers and big-time at-bats that have either given Boston the lead or brought them back from the brink of defeat. The injury couldn’t come at a worse time with it being Rivalry Week and a chance to give the team some breathing room in the AL East.
In his fifth year in the league, Arroyo is stringing together the best season of his career. He’s batting .264/.324/.432/.756 with 33 hits, nine doubles, four homers, and 19 RBI. Those numbers may not jump off the screen but the OPS, hits, doubles, homer, and RBI are all career highs for the infielder. He has easily been one of the best finds of the Chaim Bloom Era in Boston and is proving to be a big weapon for Alex Cora and the Red Sox. Hopefully, he can heal fully from this and put it in the rearview mirror.
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While this is nothing more than an IL player swap on the surface it could have repercussions for the Red Sox moving forward. A hot Michael Chavis could mean that another player has to be moved in order to keep him with the main club. Any sort of setback could derail Christian Arroyo’s career-best season. Though this is just another typical transaction we see all the time in baseball, anything and everything could happen.