Boston Red Sox: Why Michael Chavis may not fit into team’s future

Is there a future for Michael Chavis in a Boston Red Sox uniform?

The Boston Red Sox roster has an abundance of versatility around the diamond, but is there any room for Michael Chavis on the depth chart?

Chavis has been bouncing around from position to position all season looking for an everyday spot on the diamond and that could ultimately hurt his future with the team.

The 2020 season hasn’t gone exactly how the Red Sox had planned, but there’s been a few positives that have come out of this disastrous season.

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One of those positives has been the versatility on the roster, which has made a huge impact when players get injured or need a rest day. This has been demonstrated from players such as Jose Peraza, Jonathan Arauz and Michael Chavis, who are all able to play multiple positions around the diamond.

The second positive has been the excitement of the young talent coming from the Red Sox farm system.

Boston Red Sox top prospects like Bobby Dalbec, Jeter Downs and Triston Casas have been making names for themselves in the Red Sox alternative site and Dalbec has already been making a strong case for himself to be put in the everyday Red Sox lineup.

Since the Red Sox have an abundance of players on the roster who can play multiple infield positions as well as young infield talent knocking on the door, this situation makes Michael Chavis’s future with the Red Sox much more uncertain.

Michael Chavis is able to play 1B, 2B, 3B and even has a game in the outfield under his belt, but spots for the Red Sox future lineup are filling up fast and Chavis could be left in the dust.

When you map out the Boston Red Sox future depth chart in your head, it’s tough to find a place on the diamond where Chavis fits.

The case for Michael Chavis staying apart of Boston Red Sox future

In my opinion, the future depth chart will be:  C- Christian Vazquez or Kevin Plawecki, 1B- Triston Casas or Bobby Dalbec, 2B-Jeter Downs SS- Xander Bogaerts, 3B- Rafael Devers, LF-Andrew Benintendi, CF- Jackie Bradley (if he doesn’t leave in free agency) or player obtained as a  free agent or trade piece, RF-Alex Verdugo and DH is up in the air depending on if JD Martinez returns or Triston Casas takes over.

A case could easily be made in favor of Michael Chavis staying on the team due to his service time and age, since he’s only 25 years old and isn’t a free agent until 2026, but his offensive struggles could hurt his future with the team as well.

Chavis’s offensive numbers have plummeted from 2019 to 2020, specifically in average and homer run column. Last season over 95 games, Michael Chavis hit .254 with 18 home runs and over his 29 appearances in 2020, he has an average of .224 with 2 home runs.

The statistics show that Chavis is having a tough time getting the bat on the baseball and that’s why his strikeout rate has increased from 36.6 percent in 2019 to 40.8 percent in 2020, according to Baseball Reference. Which means that Chavis strikes out in almost half of the time he steps in the batter’s box when the league average is 8.62 percent.

Chavis’s potential replacements of Bobby Dalbec and Triston Casas strike out almost just as much, according to their minor league numbers, but they are currently hitting the cover off of the baseball and making a name for themselves, which could spell trouble for Chavis down the line.

Chaim Bloom, the Chief Baseball Operations Office for the Boston Red Sox has a lot of decisions to make during this next offseason to try and improve this roster for years to come and I wouldn’t be surprised if he dangles Michael Chavis in the trade market for a potential young pitcher.