Last night, news we all knew would probably break broke. re-signed with the Yankees for the 2012 season, agreeing to a small, incentive-laden deal to backup and DH on occasion. In doing so, he unofficially closed the book on an exciting 2012 off-season. Per MLB Trade Rumors:
The Yankees have agreed to terms with third baseman Eric Chavez on a one-year, Major League contract, pending a physical, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (Twitter links). The deal is worth $900K and also includes incentives, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com.
The deal isn’t bad. A number of us here at TYA, myself included, have expressed varying degrees of contempt towards Eric Chavez’s future with the team. Chavez is an injury prone, weak hitting, average fielding corner infielder on a team with . His presence is somewhat redundant, even at his present best. Fortunately, like another recent signee in Raul Ibanez, Chavez was signed to a small contract for next season. After making $1.5 million last season, his base salary will be cut nearly in half. At $900,000, Eric Chavez merely needs to produce at slightly above replacement level to justify his contract.
Still, the question must be asked. What does Eric Chavez bring to the table at this point in his career? Why bring him back at all? From Chavez’s perspective, this deal makes some sense. He’s made nearly $80 million over his career and at 33-years-old is rich well beyond his needs. He can afford to take a pay cut to stay with a winner. If he wants to resurrect his career, Yankee stadium, especially with a fragile Alex Rodriguez manning third base, isn’t a bad place to try.
But from the Yankees perspective? Chavez is depth. Particularly mediocre depth. What worries me is the potential for an expanded role. If the Yankees – Cashman, Girardi, and Co. – see Chavez as more than a Nunez’s big brother, could that cost the 2012 team games? Could the depth provided by an Eric Chavez allow for a false sense of security?
Maybe. Chavez isn’t a bad backup at this point in his career. He’s fragile, but playing once a week he should stay healthy. He’s no longer a Gold Glove defender, but statistically he’s performed reasonably at the position of late. He OPS’d .676 last season, well below league average but at or above replacement level. But the Yankees already have, or had, that kind of player. Eduardo Nunez OPS’d a more robust .698 last season, stole 22 bases, and while his defense was far below average he was able to fill in at short, third, and in the outfield. Given another year to adjust to the big league level there’s almost no question Nunez would be a more capable short to mid term fill in.
There’s also some additional depth here. should be nowhere near the starting lineup, what with his career .554 OPS, but he’s a more than capable defender at third and short, a good baserunner, and a young, cost controlled talent. Brandon Laird is, like Pena, far from perfect as a long term option. After a strong 2010 season AA, Laird struggled at Scranton last season and hit under .200 during a cup of coffee in the big leagues. But he’s got some power, plays third, first, and left field, and he’s 24. Can Pena or Laird measure up to Chavez? The answer is likely no, and the upgrade might be worth $900K plus incentives. The question is whether another option was needed with Nunez, Pena, and Laird already in the fold.
Again, though, the greatest risk with Chavez is that the Yankees give him an expanded role. Chavez played in 58 games last season. This was out of necessity, with Alex Rodriguez missing 40% of the season. Chavez is a better option than Pena or Laird in the short term and hopefully Rodriguez can stay relatively healthy going forward. But if Rodriguez is to miss significant time next season, and this is possible, the Yankees need to make a move. To me, this move signifies a lack of confidence in Nunez as a short term third base option. If Chavez is expected to fill in for any extended period of time, the results could be disastrous.
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You seem to be skipping over the fact that the bench needs another infielder. At this point in his career Jeter can’t be leaned on to give the team a full season at SS, and therefore a backup SS should be around… that’s Nunez. The same can be said for ARod, but to a higher degree, leading to Chavez.
You said yourself that Laird and Pena do not present better options this season. Add to that the fact that both of them have options remaining, and should get more work in AAA, and the Chavez signing makes plenty of sense.
The only reasons this would not make sense is if one of Ibanez or Jones couldn’t play in the OF, or there was a better 3B/bench option than Chavez.
The way I see it, if ARod and Jeter stay relatively healthy next season there’s no need for Chavez. He’s wasting roster space. He’s a terrible hitter and has absolutely no versatility. They probably wont stay healthy all season. Still, I’d argue that any situation that provides an opening for Eric Chavez to play more than a few games next season would be better solved by deploying some of our near-$200 million payroll and top-10 farm system to bring in a player who doesn’t completely suck.
Chavez only becomes (theoretically) useful if ARod and Jeter are both out for a signficant period of time and Cashman decides not to make a move. That leaves Nunez at short and Chavez at third. As far as I’m concerned that’s not an option. It can’t be an option. If Chavez is just taking the spot of Laird or Pena I suppose the move makes some sense. He’s cheap enough. He’s probably a better player (though only by a small margin). I just have my doubts. This division is going to won by a couple of games. We can’t afford to let Eric Chavez come to the plate nearly 200 times next season. It would be ludicrous.
“The way I see it, if ARod and Jeter stay relatively healthy next season there’s no need for Chavez.”
Given their ages, I think it is reasonable to be prepared for the possibility of one or both of Jeter and A-Rod missing time next year. As for Chavez, he does offer some versatility as a 1b backup.
Also, if I recall correctly Chavez’s offensive production was better prior to his injury, and the time off may have contributed to his later struggles. Regardless, I don’t see a bench player being able to hurt the team too much. If Chavez is absolutely awful, he can easily be DFA’d given his low cost.
He shouldn’t see time at first base with that bat. If Tex goes down Swisher can move into the infield and Andruw Jones (or even Eduardo Nunez) can take some at bats in right. If they need a longer term option, call up Jorge Vazquez. The fact that Chavez saw time at first and DH last season is indicative of a major miscalculation on the part of the Yankees as to his value.
In answer to your second point Chavez did have a decent stretch early in the season. Problem is, that stretch consisted of 33 at bats It’s just not a sample size from which we can draw much of a conclusion. How statistically signficant is that stretch? If just TWO of his base hits had found their way into the gloves of fields his line in April and May would look something like .240/.300/.320, which is basically what he hit in July, August, and September and how he’s hit over the past four years as a whole. We’ve got 400 at bats between 2008 and 2011 telling us Eric Chavez is a below replacement level hitter, that his bat doesn’t belong in the big leagues, and that his glove is no longer a saving grace.
“He shouldn’t see time at first base with that bat. If Tex goes down Swisher can move into the infield and Andruw Jones (or even Eduardo Nunez) can take some at bats in right.”
If the pitcher is left-handed then I agree, but I think Chavez would likely be a better option than Jones against a righty.
Look over the splits again. Jones has a .774 OPS against right handers in 443 plate appearances since the start of 2009. Chavez has a .649 OPS against right handers in 278 plate appearances since the start of 2009. The last year in which Chavez hit righties as well or better than Jones was 2008, by far the worst year of his career.
And of course it’s likely one of ARod or Jeter will miss signficant time next season. Agreed 100%. Probably both. My point is simply that any situation requiring Eric Chavez to take a substantial number of at bats next season is a situation requiring further action. He’s replacement level at best and can’t stay healthy even as a bench player. He’s not better as a defensive replacement, pinch hitter, or emergency option that the guys we had in place and for any signficant period of time Eric Chavez is not a reasonable option.
Chavez IS taking the spot that would have been filled by one of Laird or Pena. Did you skip only that part of the article and my comment, or did you skip them both entirely, before adding your two cents?
If ARod and Jeter both go down, then of course something should be done to rectify things. Do you really think the Yankees, or in particular Brian Cashman, see Nunez AND Chavez as regulars… should the need arise?
Not even the wealthy Yankees are going to spend the money on somebody that would be an excellent fill-in, should Derek and Alex both go down, before that were to happen. Because that player could very well see the bench in a hundred or more games. And spending that much for a player like that would be insanely stupid and wasteful.
See the spot filled by Chavez for what it is… not what it isn’t.
If they don’t both go down for an extended period of time what is Chavez doing on the roster? Seriously. He’s something like 30% worse than the average big league hitter and he plays a corner infield position at a below average level. Those guys generally don’t get big league jobs. If Eric Chavez was named John Smith and didn’t used to be good he wouldn’t have a big league job. He’s something like a 0.2 or 0.3 WAR upgrade over Pena or Laird. That’s IF he’s healthy enough to take over for an inning or two at a time and IF he doesn’t decline and IF Pena and Laird don’t improve to something resembling a decent backup. He’s very, very, very marginally better than those two players. Why even make the move? Why not give the spot to a young player and hope for the best? Why not try to acquire a decent backup infielder if you’re worried about Jeter and ARod missing some time? Eric Chavez isn’t going to tank the 2012 Yankees but he doesn’t really provide any value and his acquisition doesn’t make much sense.
If this was simply a minimal upgrade costing the team $900K that’d be one thing. And you can argue that it is. I’d argue that it’s foolish to completely ignore past decision making. I’m concerned. Chavez played 58 games last season and that was a bad decision. Whatever the Yankees hoped to get out of him they didn’t. He hasn’t shown himself to be a worthwhile big leaguer in five years. My point in writing this article and in responding to your comment is that Chavez is basically a null upgrade over what we already had and that, taking into account past behavior, it’s not unreasonable to believe the Yankees see Chavez as some kind of “ARod insurance” which he most certainly isn’t. They see him as the guy who played almost every day in August in September. I see him as a guy who isn’t worth more than a spring training invite. Am I missing something? Or is Eric Chavez an atrocious baseball player who has no business receiving a big league contract and who the Yankees have brought back on board because he’s a veteran and used to not suck? That’s how I see this.
Chavez isn’t a 2nd baseman AFAIK. So, if Jeter and Cano go down (Heaven forbid!), the Yanks would still have to bring up Peña.
Chavez does have a big leftie/rightie split for his career. The Yanks may feel that he’s a better option than Nuñez to replace ARod against a right-handed pitcher.
Are you guys watching the same games I am. Chavez is a professional hitter. Nunez is at best a raw talent with almost as much pop as Chavez.
BTW even though aged Chavez knows 3B, and you might as well call Nunez “Stone Glove” for his fielding efforts. Chavez may have slowed down , but he has more Gold Gloves than the Yankee infield.