McAdam: Michael Chavis has earned the right to stay with Sox

By Thursday, the Red Sox could have as many as three infielders on rehab assignments with various minor league affiliates.

Eduardo Nunez (back) is already with the Pawtucket Red Sox. Dustin Pedroia (knee) is set to join the Portland Sea Dogs. Brock Holt (scratched cornea) is in some limbo, as he returned to Boston on Monday to have a sore shoulder examined.

At some point, however, all three players will matriculate back to Boston, creating a roster logjam. Eventually, the Sox will have to move some players out to allow for the return of the three injured players.

Tzu-Wei Lin is an easy call. Though Lin is a strong defender and versatile enough to play all over the infield as well as the outfield, he has remaining options and can be returned to Pawtucket. An extra pitcher -- the Sox are carrying 13, one more than is optimum -- can be moved out, creating a second spot while allowing the Sox to have four players on the bench, one more than they now have.

After that, it gets complicated. One more player will eventually have to be returned to the minors in order to accommodate all three players currently on rehab.

But one thing is already clear: when all the musical chairs and rosters machinations get played out, Michael Chavis has to remain. In a little more than a week and a half, he's demonstrated that he belongs.

When he was first promoted from Pawtucket halfway through the last Red Sox trip, Chavis appeared to be a spare part, an extra body to help out in the infield while the team battled through some injuries. Only the day before he was summoned, manager Alex Cora expressed some reservations about his readiness to play second base at the major league level.

But since arriving, Chavis has found himself in the starting lineup every game but his very first. He's started six games at second, one at third and another (Monday night) at first base.

He's reached base safely in all but one of those games, cranked three home runs and knocked in eight runs. He's put together a slash line of .286/.429/.643 and demonstrated -- in an admittedly small sample size -- that's he hardly overmatched facing major league pitching.

The biggest question, as Cora had hinted, was his acumen in the field, and while he's had occasional lapses at second -- on Sunday, he pivoted on the double play and made a wild throw that he never should have attempted -- he's been perfectly acceptable at the position. Drafted as a shortstop, Chavis is comfortable at the corner infield spots.

On Monday, in the Red Sox' 9-4 victory over the A's, his versatility came in handy. Mitch Moreland is mired in one of his patented slumps (0-for-16) and Steve Pearce -- with four hits all season -- was hardly an attractive alternative, especially against a right-handed pitcher. So, Cora wrote Chavis's name in the lineup at first base.

Result? Chavis knocked out two more hits, including a big two-run single to center in the Red Sox' big six-run third inning. He also turned a nice 3-6-3 double play at first, a position he hasn't played a great deal.

Of course, it's his bat that the Sox value most, as they struggle at times to score runs (two runs or fewer in three of the previous five games before Monday's breakout). At a time when the Sox are getting next-to-no production from the bottom third of their batting order, Chavis helps to lengthen the lineup.

Unlike a lot of young hitters transitioning to the big leagues, many of whom have a habit of expanding the strike zone in their eagerness to contribute, Chavis has nearly as many walks (six) as strikeouts.

And his ability to move around the infield could allow Cora to spot him at a number of positions. If Rafael Devers continues to be plagued by errors at third, Chavis offers an alternative. It's a given that Pedroia will need occasional time off when he returns to second. And Chavis offers a potent bat off the bench, an important asset given the struggles of both catchers and slumping center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr.

The hard part, naturally, will be in determining whom to sacrifice in order to extend Chavis's stay in the majors. Would the Sox think about releasing Nunez, who's contributed next to nothing in the first month? Holt's lefty bat and the ability to play everywhere but behind the plate would seem to mark him safe, and Pedroia isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

Perhaps, as often happens, something will transpire to prolong Chavis's tenure. Maybe Holt will need extended recovery time because of the latest setback with the shoulder and a tough call won't have to be made for several more weeks.

But when that time comes, keeping Chavis around shouldn't even be a question. Or, if it is, the answer should be: yes.