He's only 22 and OPS'd above 800 in AA. His previous years were worse largely due to injuries.
He's not the next great pillar of this team, but he could be a valuable platoon guy or bench bat.
People are genuinely excited because the Sox haven't been able to develop much in house power recently.
At least the Price deal can be justified that you need to pay a premium for a FA top of the rotation starter who can go 200+ innings. The only issue was that it didn't make sense to offer that deal to Price when they let Lester just walk away for less money.
They moved him off of SS because of his footwork. They decided 3b would be a better fit for him than 2b. He wasn't very good at 3b, so I doubt he'd be good at 2b.
It what risk tho? At some point, the risk of it not working out is greater than "what if we had this punch and judy bat with bad baserunning skills who has a big contract but can play a little D?"
I'd rather a short guy that can field well over a lanky guy that has a negative DWAR. Also, I think Chavis is suited for a platoon bat role. I don't think he'd be starting at 1b for 150 games per season.
They interviewed him directly during the winter meetings.
The problem is that you are dealing hypothetical what ifs. Everyone else on here is dealing with the reality of the direct information we know. You can keep saying "well I suspect that maybe blah blah blah" but if there is no indication of those things happening, it's a pointless exercise.
No doubt the Red Sox are interested in landing Martinez — Silverman calls him the organization’s “first choice” — but at a palatable price. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2017/12/j-d-martinez-prefers-to-sign-as-outfielder-mlb-free-agent-rumors-red-sox.html If he's their first choice, wouldn't they be hyper focused on making sure he's they guy they get?
http://www.masslive.com/redsox/index.ssf/2018/01/boston_red_sox_top_infield_pro.html#incart_river_index
And why would they move Chavis to 2b for a part time position, when they are trying to transition him to 1b? If he's doing well at 1b, it is probably a better long term fit for him in this organization.
It'll probably be a rotation of guys (Marerro, Hernandez, Holt, Lin, etc.) until they get the right fit. I really like what Lin showed us last year. Maybe he could end up the surprise replacement? At least Josh Rutledge isn't around anymore.
Hard to see a guy as a trade piece with that huge contract. I'm sure they'd hand him over to anyone else that really wanted to him at a deep discount at this point.
IDK. Rusney played 80 games in 2015 and wound up with a negative BSR and OWAR. He doesn't hit for power and doesn't walk. Even if his defense is legit, it's probably not worth the contract.
Also, his best playing days are behind him since he's turning 31 this year.