Michael Chavis has had a meteoric rise in popularity among Boston fans since his call up on April 19.
The 23-year-old Red Sox phenom is now tied with J.D. Martinez for the second-most home runs on the team with 9. The most impressive part of that stat is how many plate appearances it has taken him: Just 117. Whereas Martinez is sitting just shy of 200 PA this year.
With everything that Chavis has brought to the table in his 27 games this season, what happens to him when Dustin Pedroia and, much later, Brock Holt return?
When Pedroia returns, Alex Cora will be forced to find ways to get the Ice Horse in the lineup daily. There is no way the aging veteran will be capable of playing every day; so Chavis will continue to get games at second base.
On top of that, reigning World Series MVP Steve Pearce has been an absolute non-factor for the Sox this year. The journeyman who’s toured the entire AL East in his career is batting a measly .141 with a goose-egg in the home run department, and just five RBI in his 23 games.
The easy solution? Send Pearce packing. This would not only open a roster spot but allow Chavis to platoon between first base with Mitch Moreland and second when Pedroia needs a day off. Certainly, as fans, we all want to see Pedey succeed. We are talking about a veteran, Gold Glover, and former AL Most Valuable Player.
If his knee can recover and he is ready for the grind, Dombrowski will be forced to make some tough decisions down the stretch. One thing is for certain, the “Ice Horse” has made his presence known and isn’t planning on making that decision easy.
2 Responses
Great insights.
Spot on!
Is it a given Pedroia will make it back? He was an amazing player and it would be wonderful if he could make it back to play like he he did before but remember he’s 36. I personally still think Machado should have been banned from baseball instead of being rewarded with a big contract for his intentional injury (possibly career ending) to Pedroia. I’m just waiting on Karma.