McAdam: Winning a season-opening roster spot would seem to be uphill battle for Michael Chavis

After spending most of 2019 in the big leagues and all of 2020, Michael Chavis understands that this year could be different.

The addition of veteran utility players such as Marwin Gonzalez, Kiké Hernández and Danny Santana has put Chavis's roster spot at risk.

"I'm not even sure that I have a place on the team,'' he said. "That's what I'm trying to earn. I'm not ashamed to say that. It's obviously a little bit of an awkward situation. In regards to my position, I'm not sure that I have one. I'm not sure where I fit in. But as uncomfortable as that is, I don't feel uncomfortable.

"I worked my butt off this offseason. I did what I needed to do to prepare for this. So if I don't earn a spot, I did what I needed to do and I can sleep knowing that. There's been times in the minors when I get caught up in the, 'I have to outplay so-and-so...' But at the end of the day, my performance isn't dictated by somebody's else performance. Just because somebody else is a good player, that doesn't change what I do.

"I mean, yes, we have a bunch of utility players who can play the same positions as me. And they're great ballplayers. But I'm confident in what I do and I'm confident in what I did this offseason to prepare for this. So, worrying about anything else outside -- Where am I going to play? When am I going to play? - there's no real positives to it. So I just stay focused on what I can control.''

An issue with Chavis has been consistency and contact. In the last two seasons, he's been very streaky and tends to get into offensive funks where he's swinging at too many pitches. His strikeout rate declined somewhat (from 33.3 percent to 31.7) in 2020, but it's still too high. And opposing teams have come to take advantage of a weakness of his -- fastballs up in the strike zone.

Chavis tried to work on his approach at the plate, but spent most of the winter focusing on his conditioning, dropping some weight to help him improve his speed.



"(Alex Cora) and everybody was saying how we were going to key on 'being faster' and how we needed to 'play faster,' and how baserunning was going to be a big aspect,'' said Chavis. "So a lot of what I did was running-oriented. That's how I'm in the shape I'm in now. I feel incredible. I think it's actually shown up pretty well on the field. I beat out a ground ball (Monday), so I feel really good about how I'm playing, how I'm moving and how my work in the offseason has now translated over to the game.

"It's something I'm really proud of. I worked really hard to do what I needed to do to prepare for this season. That's why I can rest my head at night, knowing that everything's OK. I did what I needed to do to prepare for this and now it just happens.''

Chavis believes his improved mobility and speed will translate to better baserunning, with a chance to be more aggressive in taking an extra base and getting better jumps on balls in either the infield or outfield.

"I feel so much more athletic and it's showing up in my swing and on defense,'' he said. "When I'm moving laterally, I feel like I have better range. I feel like I'm better able to stretch and reach for balls because I'm more mobile.''

The problem is, finding a spot for him. Gonzalez looks to be the prime alternative to Bobby Dalbec at first, and with Hernandez expected to see the most playing time at second, Christian Arroyo and Gonzalez can both play there, too.

Chavis got introduced to the outfield a bit last season (11 games), but notably, he says no one with the club has spoken to him about that option this spring.

"Signing (Hernandez and Gonzalez) didn't push me any harder,'' Chavis said. "I'm actually got excited to learn from them. They're both very talented and they've both done very well in a similar position that I'm in, where they play multiple positions and they're athletic players. So I've been excited to learn and work from them and get to watch every day.''

Questions about versatility aside, Chavis's fate will largely be determined by his ability to put the ball in play -- hard -- more often.

"This year,'' he said, "I feel like I have more (plate) coverage. I'm more aware of it. The swing development, a lot of it just learning about my swing and learning about things that I don't need to do that I felt like I needed to do. I had a lot of movement in my swing that would just get in my way, but I felt like I needed to do in order to just get my swing off.''

Still, it would seem that the crowded roster -- and the fact that he has remaining options -- portends an assignment at Triple-A to start the season. Where he goes from there will depend on his ability to make adjustments, and the performance of those who have jumped ahead of him on the depth chart.