Eric Chavez will officially be returning to the Diamondbacks for a second season. The team announced today that it has signed the third baseman to a one-year contract. Chavez, a client of All Bases Covered, is reportedly guaranteed $3.5MM and can earn another $1MM via incentives. He will receive $250K for playing in 60, 90, 120 and 150 games.
Chavez batted .281/.341/.488 with 25 homers in 567 plate appearances over the past two seasons between the Diamondbacks and Yankees. Once considered a defensive wizard at the hot corner, Chavez's glove-work has declined in recent years after a slew of back, shoulder and neck injuries have taken their toll on the veteran's body.
The 36-year-old veteran figures to serve as a left-handed bat off the bench and can back up regular third baseman Martin Prado from time to time. Chavez also has experience at first base, so he could see some time there should Paul Goldschmidt be injured or require a day off (though Mark Trumbo could back up that position as well).
Chavez was also connected to the Yankees and Braves this offseason. In the end, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reports (via Twitter) that he preferred to stay close to his Phoenix home.
Heyman of CBS Sports was the first to report the agreement and the terms of the contract (Twitter links). Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported the incentives structure (also on Twitter).
Good move. Lots of activity suddenly today.
Welcome back Eric!!!
Great fit for the Dbacks. Glad he resigned.
They had to, didn’t they trade Davidson?
Third is going to look ugly for the Yankees if/when A-Rod is suspended . . .
Good move for the D-Backs. Allows them to move Prado around to spell people, too.
Signing Chavez wouldn’t have done anything to change the Yankees outlook at third base this year.
I don’t think they are looking for any more LH hitters. I think they are more interested in Reynolds than Chavez.
This is one guy I always liked just wished he could have stayed healthy. Was hoping the Braves would sign him.
Huge move.we need a lefty hitter.miggy and parra are free swingers.now get tananka or garza or ubaldo.stick one of them in with bradley corbin then we have a real shot.
Will wait on terms but I think I’m okay with this, still apparently has power and can fake his way at 3B. Injuries are a bit of an issue but unless this is multi-year I have no major qualms.
6 consecutive gold gloves. The man can field.
His last GG was 7 years ago…. He has had a negative UZR for the last 5 years. The man used to field!
He will likely be a back up and pinch hitter with an occasional start, if that’s his role he should stay healthy this season
6 consecutive gold gloves. The man can field.
The strongest move of the Arizona off-season so far. Now if KT can just avoid trading away anymore prospects, it would be nice.
KT has kept the prospects that will be in the Dbacks future, Skaggs was losing stock while Bradley, Blair, and Shipley were gaining it at a fast rate, Eaton had no spot since Pollock and Parra are a head of him on the depth chart and Davidson had no spot with prado at 3rd and Trumbo at LF. As long as he holds onto Barrett, Stites, Trahan, Bradley, Shipley, Blair and Owings we should be good.
I think it’s foolish to justify giving up guys because they “have no spot”, there was theoretically “no spot” for Trumbo yet Towers made room for him. And just because Skaggs was losing stock doesn’t mean the deal was good, there are still major question marks about Trumbo’s defense, and pretty much every part of his offense aside from power. They are also extremely right-handed now, not that it’s a problem but quite a few regulars are bordering on platoon splits against RHPs, not a good sign.
I think it’s unwise to justify giving up players because they have no spot for them, there was theoretically no spot for Trumbo yet Towers made room for him. And just because Skaggs was losing stock doesn’t mean the deal was good, there are still major question marks about Trumbo’s defense, and pretty much every part of his offense aside from power. They are also extremely right-handed now, not that it’s a problem but quite a few regulars are bordering on platoon splits against RHPs, not a good sign.
nice move by the D-Backs, I would have liked to see him coming off of the bench for the Pirates
Great signing. I’m sure Eric Chavez could have easily been signed (possibly for more cash too) by another team that would have relied on him to anchor the 3B job primarily or significantly for them. Such a team would have been making a mistake and Chavez would have been mistaken for doing it. He has proven to be too fragile to shoulder a heavy and regular workload. In Arizona he will be deployed in limited and supporting roles. The role the D-backs have for Chavez will more likely keep him healthy and available for when they need his considerable talents in higher leverage situations.
Which teams if you’re sure he could easily have been signed to primarily anchor the 3B job?
The easiest one… the New York Yankees. Whose their third baseman? A-Rod? It’s safe to say he’ll miss at least a chunk of games in 2014. If Kelly Johnson remained their only other option, Chavez would have been expected to play a lot more than he will in Arizona behind Martin Prado?
They don’t need more lefties and he offers more or less the same stats as Johnson with less durability.
Not so bold prediction: Kelly Johnson will not lead the New York Yankees in games played at third base in 2014.
I don’t disagree, but I’m not sure Chavez would’ve made any difference. He can’t really be a starter anymore. Johnson can. There are not a ton of options out there. I’m sure they would prefer if A-Rod was suspended, but he would be their best bet for the position with Johnson spelling him from time to time.
Would have fit perfectly in Milwaukee. Could have played a lot at 1B and given Ramirez his needed days off. Can’t believe Melvin never got involved especially now that he’s considering Michael Young. Chavez would have given them everything Young can plus he’s a much needed lefty bat.
As for his wish to stay close to home, the Brewers do train in Phoenix. Oh well, Doug missed another.
look at his line for last season and tell me how he got the $500K raise with that (not to mention 2 injuries last year). I would have preferred to stay at his salary for last year if I was a GM, but I guess the raise was necessary with other suitors driving up prices for the past week or so…