Michael Chavis’ success with Red Sox puts pressure on struggling Bobby Dalbec

Michael Chavis remembers what it’s like to be the new guy.

It’s isolating, a bit scary and made worse when the results aren’t there.

So when Chavis was asked to describe the dynamic between him and Bobby Dalbec, a pair of young and unproven Red Sox prospects who are currently competing for playing time and, eventually, a roster spot, he remembered that feeling.

“It is a competition, but it’s not,” Chavis said after the Sox’ 8-1 win over the A’s on Thursday night. “He doesn’t care about the competition aspect. He cares about me as a person, I care about him as a person, and at the end of the day, we are just absolutely pulling for each other. And one of the beautiful things about this team is that you don’t really feel that kind of fighting atmosphere. There’s always going to be guys competing for spots and competing for positions, but everybody’s pulling for each other.”

Less than a week since being recalled to the big leagues, Chavis has made his presence felt.

Hitting leadoff Thursday night, he started the game with a hustle double and ended the night 2-for-5 with a pair of doubles and some solid defense at second base.

One could already argue that Chavis has done as much to impact the Red Sox’ record in five games than Dalbec has done in 31.

But Dalbec looked like a fire was lit under him on Thursday. He hit a majestic home run that bounced somewhere off the back wall in center field just to the right of the Green Monster. It was measured at 432 feet, though it looked even farther than that. He also hit a single the other way to raise his average back to .200.

“We’re going to keep pushing him and keep grinding,” manager Alex Cora said. “There’s a lot of work to do and he’s put in the work. It’s something that we’re trying to put the best lineup out there on a daily basis and I just thought the last two days were good for him to reset again and give Michael a chance to go out and play.

“The two were really good today. Solid every day for everybody.”

For the previous two games, Dalbec was forced to watch from the bench as Chavis started twice in a row at first base, Dalbec’s position all year. Cora had been supportive of Dalbec throughout his season-long slump, but said Thursday that it was time to perform.

“The other kid came in and hit a home run right away,” Cora said of Chavis. “We’ve got 26 guys and we’ve got to maximize them. One guy is struggling, the other is putting good at-bats … I know that (Dalbec) is working hard, but at the end, we’ve got to go with the lineup that we feel is going to produce that day.”

If watching from the bench was difficult for Dalbec, imagine the pain for Chavis, who had to watch Red Sox games from home as he was stuck in Triple-A Worcester, despite an impressive spring training in which he hit .250 with six homers, one shy of Dalbec’s Grapefruit League-leading seven home runs.

Chavis didn’t hold back when asked if the last month-plus in Triple-A helped him.

“Absolutely not,” he said. “I feel like while I was down there, it was difficult to get work in. I wasn’t able to get my routine going just because we weren’t playing legitimate games, we didn’t have umpires, and the one thing I was told to do down there was focus on zone recognition. It’s really complicated and tough to do when you don’t have an umpire.

“So while I was down there, I did my best to stay ready, and that was kind of the approach that I took. I wasn’t so worried about finding that difference or finding anything like that. Because I felt amazing in spring, I felt like I performed very well, I felt like I took care of business, and I was proud of myself. I was proud of the shape that I came in, I was proud of how I performed, I was proud of how I took care of my business in the clubhouse and the weight room, on the field, off the field. And that’s about it, honestly.”

Now he’s back in the big leagues and looking like a spark in the Red Sox lineup.

With Kiké Hernandez and Christian Arroyo both eligible to return May 17, it looks like one of either Chavis or Dalbec will be heading back to Worcester.

“Competition is always good,” Cora said. “We always talk about it. I know they both want to be in the big leagues, they want to contribute. The one that benefits from all that is the team. So if that’s the case, so be it.”

If Chavis keeps adding a spark to the lineup, the pressure’s on Dalbec.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3uRYmUo