Eric Chavez?

[mth123]

Read a piece in the Boston Globe that Eric Chavez wants to resume his career at age 33. He's a lefty bat with nearly the same profile as Rolen when the Reds got him. Top notch defender with power who was derailed by back and shoulder problems. The Reds need lefty hitting and a guy to share time with Rolen. Perhaps holding them both to part time loads would keep them healthy and productive in the middle of the Reds order w/o a drop-off defensively.

The Reds could do worse than giving Chavez an incentove laden deal, Add a little caddy time at 1B and DHing against the AL teams and maybe 300 productive ABs from Chavez would be just the thing the Reds need to do to piece togther a middle of the order behind or between Votto and Bruce. I think Rolen would be a lot more productive.

He'd have to come cheap on an incentive laden deal, but if he would, the Reds should consider it.

[jmcclain19]

Guy hasn't played more than half a season in almost four years. He played 88 games in 2007 when he was a pretty sub par 3b. Since then he's been a non entity.

He's strictly a 1B/DH now - not something the Reds need.

Nice that he wants to still hang on, but he's pretty much done, barring a miracle.

[Oxilon]

Was one of my favorite players in the early part of the decade. Hard to believe he's only 33.

[mth123]

Originally Posted by jmcclain19

Guy hasn't played more than half a season in almost four years. He played 88 games in 2007 when he was a pretty sub par 3b. Since then he's been a non entity.

He's strictly a 1B/DH now - not something the Reds need.

Nice that he wants to still hang on, but he's pretty much done, barring a miracle.

I thought pretty much the same about Rolen when the Reds traded for him. Last year in the first half, Rolen said his pain was gone for the first time in a long time and he was like his old self. Too much work caused his condition to flare up. If Chavez is feeling no pain, maybe he can play 3B again on a limited basis and limiting he and Rolen's load may keep them both productive. The good news about a deal like I'm proposing is that the Reds really have a need for a caddy for Rolen and a lefty bat and no one of consequelnce would have ABs taken away to give it a shot. I'd rather try this and take a shot at productivity than give the job to Cairo and lock in mediocrity.

[Eric_the_Red]

I prefer Cairo to Chavez. And that isn't saying much about Cairo.

[GADawg]

well I still prefer Francisco but i get your point....being the team that gives the guy a no risk opportunity can't hurt anything and if he truly is ready to be himself again you could wind up looking like a genius

Cairo came up big last season on several occasions but i still like him in the cheerleading role

[westofyou]

If he was a horse he would have been shot already.

[PuffyPig]

Putting him at AAA on a minor league deal to see if he's healthy and has anytihng left wouldn't be a bad risk.

[Cooper]

I like the thought. He can hit left-handed and he might be able to give you 200 AB's from 3rd. If he can't play 3rd then there's no reason to pursue him, but if he can -i'd be for it.

Rarely do playoff teams have a bad 3rd baseman. For some reason it's the tipping point between a good team and an also ran. Teams that can settle in and solve that position have a nice advantage over others that cannot. It's as if 3rd is the tipping point toward above .500 baseball.

Only an also ran team would think of Francisco as any kind of solution over at 3rd. You put him at 3rd and it tips the team into chaos. I rarely believe that old players over young is the way to go (all things being equal)- 3rd base is the only position i believe where an older player seems to have a perceived advantage.

[Edd Roush]

Originally Posted by PuffyPig

Putting him at AAA on a minor league deal to see if he's healthy and has anytihng left wouldn't be a bad risk.

Chavez interests me and I think he could possibly be a decent part-time player, but there isn't room for him in AAA. Getting Francisco 500 ABs and every inning defensively at third is way more important to me than a reclamation project. I wonder if he would be cool with trying to get his swing back in AA? I doubt it and I doubt Cincinnati would interest him above teams with glaring holes at 3b.

[RANDY IN INDY]

He's only played 64 games in the last 3 seasons.

[Ghosts of 1990]

I don't see how he helps us much. Not really a fit for this roster. I figure that Janish and Renteria will both end up playing some third. The Reds really like Francisco. Rolen is aging. I would like Chavvy more if he was going to be the other half of a platoon with a young player, but not with the cast of characters we already have.

[camisadelgolf]

If he can still produce, then yeah, bring him on board. Unless the doctors think otherwise, he's absolutely worth the risk.

[Cooper]

I think the way to approach in terms of what chavez could do for the reds has to be looked at with some historical background.

There are many cases where a player takes 2 or 3 years to fully recover from a neck or back injury (Eric Davis and Joe Montana come to mind). If he is 90% of what he used to be and has fully recovered then I think it's worth a shot. I would think it depends mostly on what kind of injury he is recovering from.

[westofyou]

Originally Posted by Cooper

I think the way to approach in terms of what chavez could do for the reds has to be looked at with some historical background.

There are many cases where a player takes 2 or 3 years to fully recover from a neck or back injury (Eric Davis and Joe Montana come to mind). If he is 90% of what he used to be and has fully recovered then I think it's worth a shot. I would think it depends mostly on what kind of injury he is recovering from.

Bulging discs in his neck and a shoulder injury likely caused by a cascade effect for favoring the neck.

Guys who play the field need to show more health than Chavez has mustered in a few years.

Get a fork... stick it in him.