The Red Sox announced the acquisition of lefty reliever Austin Davis from the Pirates, sending infielder Michael Chavis back to Pittsburgh in a one-for-one deal.
It’s a bit of a surprising pickup for Boston, since an elbow sprain has limited Davis to just 9 2/3 innings this year. He’s allowed seven runs (six earned) in that brief look, striking out eleven and issuing five walks. This is his fourth season seeing some action at the big league level, as the 28-year-old previously pitched for the Phillies and Pittsburgh from 2018-20. Altogether, he has a 5.65 ERA/4.04 SIERA in 71 2/3 innings.
Davis still has a pair of minor league option years remaining and hasn’t yet reached arbitration, though. He’ll give the Sox a flexible southpaw relief option who can be moved back and forth between Boston and Triple-A Worcester so long as he sticks on the 40-man roster.
Chavis was a one-time highly-regarded prospect, so it’s easy to see the appeal for the Pirates. Pittsburgh general manager Ben Cherington was leading the Boston front office when the Red Sox selected Chavis in the first round of the 2014 draft. The right-handed hitter has bounced on and off the big league roster over the past three years, picking up a little more than the equivalent of one full season’s worth of playing time. Chavis has a .234/.291/.413 line across 622 big league plate appearances to date.
He’s been too strikeout-prone to this point, but there’s little harm for the rebuilding Bucs in giving him a look. Chavis has the minor league pedigree and defensive flexibility — he’s seen time at each of first, second and third base, as well as in left field — to be an intriguing buy-low pickup. Chavis can still be optioned for the remainder of this season and next.
Robert Murray of FanSided reported the Red Sox were acquiring Davis. Keith Law of the Athletic reported that Chavis was going to the Pirates in return.
lmao
boy, has his stock fallen
How can you say his stick has fallen? Prior to now, how many Sox fans had ever heard of Austin Davis?
Pretty sure he’s talking about Chavis
my bad attempt at humor. Thanks for noticing. Lol.
In that case, we’ll done.
As a desensitized Pirates fan, i just assumed the Davis was our 1.1 pick from a few weeks ago. I’m relieved its another Davis, Austin Davis.
Sorry, Michael, you’re going to Pittsburgh.
He has been sentenced to Pittsburgh
I mean, he’s going to get an opportunity and our manager was a very successful hitting coach. So he’s got that going for him.
The reality is Chavis would probably have been dealt or DFAed at season’s end when the 40 man roster was finalized prior to the next Rule 5 draft.
Cherington drafted him in the 1st round back in the day and now he’ll get playing time in addition to a GM that believes in him. I’m hoping he can be a big part of Pittsburgh’s 2024 division title
Hope so too. He”s better at 2B than I thought possible and hopefully with little pressure his power returns. That said, he has to hit the high strike fast ball to stuck in the big leagues. Rooting for him.
Not all bad …he’ll at least get regular playing time and have a chance to restore his value. Instantly one of their top 5 players.
Chavis bounces back from life’s challenges so I expect him to fare much better in Pittsburgh. He won’t be fighting the same uphill battle he did in Boston. The GM likes him and doesn’t see him as ‘not one of his guys’ like the jackass Bloom did. He’ll have a manager who knows baseball not a cheater.
Chavis is a good kid who deserved better than what Bloom and Cora have given him. Like Mookie, Price, JBJ and Benny, I expect him to thrive if he gets away from the prejudice of the Red Sox organization. I’m happy for him but I know he really wanted to play for Boston so that’s got to be disappointing.
Good luck Michael!!
He deserved better? How about learning to hit the baseball. He’s just that good of a baseball player.
Oh, and Price, JBJ and Benny aren’t really thriving after leaving Boston….,
mikedickinson = He deserved a fair chance which he didn’t get. Clearly the empathy gene isn’t present in you but cutting people slack when they go through difficult times is a human trait most people don’t scoff at. Your comments speak volumes to you character or lack there of!!!
Think about how messed up your mind is. Players don’t have to thrive somewhere else to be out of a bad situation. I’m sure all of the players I mentioned are dealing with both relief from finally getting a fair chance and frustration because they wanted to be in Boston. Price is doing just fine, his team won a ring, he’s pitching his way back to health and he’s under the radar with the more forgiving LA press. JBJ is doing well. Just like in Boston he’s made many outstanding plays in Milwaukee and he’s hit better so he could be classified as thriving since his team is winning their division by a large margin. Benny has had a tough April and July and an excellent May and June. As he settles in with KC things should continue to get better and that’s what fans hope for when rooting for a player.
Clearly you are big mouthed young person who hasn’t experienced life. You might not have worked for a crap management team so you can’t relate to what these ball players have gone through in Boston. You probably never had a serial cheater as your boss. You probably haven’t seen racial bias in your work place. So you can’t possibly understand my comments about how they deserved better. Next time keep the big mouth closed when people write about things you don’t understand.
Where ballplayers go to die
More like where they go to rebound and get traded to a contender
You’re on the the wrong page, that’s reserved for the NY Jets! Pirates may suck but we’ll suck with no names, not no name has beens!
Screw the Scherzer and Turner deal, this is the biggest blockbuster of this historic 2021 trade deadline
Yes
How many Sox fans knew how important Pearce was going to be in 18? Ya never know.
this is Austin Davis we’re talking about. he’s garbo.
You’re probably right but I thought Pearce had nothing left to offer when he was traded to Boston. I was wrong twice on him because I also approved the $6.5m contract DD gave Pearce as a reward (matching Moreland’s then deal).
Pearce was known for smashing Lefty’s and being an above hitter anyway, bug difference there. Before Pearce got a shoulder injury he could play 2b and every corner position, not great on D but he was a decent player in his hayday
I just thought his best was behind him when the deal was done. Boy was I wrong!
Dewey – I agree that Pearce was a pleasant surprise in 2018 but Cora gets a big assist in 2018 because JD was coasting along pounding out RBIs like a madman in the 3 hole then Cora put Pearce in the 3 hole and screwed with JD. Pearce got the great RBI situations thanks to Mookie and Benny and JD lost opportunities for RBIs. JD dropped off like he is now since Cora once again after great success pulled him from the 3 hole so Xander can be the star of the team.
By putting Pearce in the prime spot in the line-up he created a need for DD to keep him after the season. Average fans didn’t realize that everything Pearce got was taken from JD. When asked to do it again, Pearce played to his real abilities. JD was frustrated with his demotion and didn’t have a good 2019 all because Cora’s ego was writing checks he couldn’t cash. Cora needs to stop thinking because it hurts the team. JD needs to hit 3 for the Red Sox to win. By moving Bogey into the 3 hole this late in the season he’s increasing the chances that he will opt out for more money because his numbers will be even greater than they were before the change.
There is a negative domino effect to everything Cora does!! He never gave Chavis and equal opportunity to prove himself compared to Devers and now Chavis is in Pittsburgh. He screwed with Sale’s wind-up and it caused a 2 year impact on the success of the organization. Cora is the cockroach that can be removed and so many others are paying the price for his lack of skill as a manager and lack of integrity as a human being.
I agree Pearce made the best if his opportunities but JDM who I’ve always said was the real MVP that season is a pro and I don’t relate his changes to a demotion other than the next hitter backing hum us not the same. I love Renfroe for example but his protecting JDM is not nearly as strong as Xman.
Dewey – Very true. But since 2018 I’ve been tracking JD’s performance in the 3 hole versus other spots because I was so pissed at Cora when he moved him on July 31 2018. By shear luck Pearce had a good series with the Yankees and Cora was convinced he was a genius. JD never performed to the same level that year nor in 2019 when Cora juggled his spot. In fact, when Cora botched Spring Training in 2019 he put JD at four and they fell behind by a lot. Then, he put JD in the 3 hole and they won 18 of 22 games. Naturally, Cora rested JD and then brought him back in the 4 hole and the rest of 2019 is history. 2020 was the same way. When JD hits 3 he performs better but Cora chose not to use him there and his spiral down continued throughout the shortened 2020 season. In 2021, I couldn’t explain it but SOMEBODY put JD 3rd and poof he was back to old JD. About a week ago he got moved from 3rd to 5th and his average started heading south.
I think it’s a combination of being insulted by a prejudice manager and as you pointed out the hitters that follow him are much worse than when he hits 3rd.. Your point is well taken!!
For me, 2018 had so many comebacks because in the late innings many times JBJ would lead off a late inning then Betts and Benny would get on and JD would drive in go ahead runs. That was the benefit to batting him 3rd. In many of the Sept 2018 games the top would come up and Pearce would make the last out so JD would bat in the 9th or maybe not at all.
JD Martinez, career splits:
Batting 3rd .282 .353 .513 .866
Batting 4th .291 .359 .532 .891
Batting 5th. 298 .351 .534 .884
Late & close: .249 .341 .477 .818
I don’t see what you mean. JD is the same hitter in the 3rd, 4th, or 5th spot and does not help the Sox in late situations.
Not many. Red Sox fans know few MLB players short of the superstars not of their team’s roster. Myopic.
RobM – That’s true but I think Bob’s point was more related to how well Pearce had historically done and how he had done that year. Pearce was a journeyman and had his 15 minutes of fame in August and September of 2018 thanks to Cora inserting him in the 3 hole. Predicting that outcome was highly unlikely because it was pure luck. One, Cora is a terrible manager so he moves players in and out of the line-up for the wrong reasons and two, to put a mediocre hitter in the 3 hole and move back the top RBI guy to the 4 hole and explain that he wanted him to get more chances at RBIs shows just how lucky the move was.
It had nothing to do with how well he was known, it’s simply an illogical choice by Cora that he got lucky on. I read Bob’s comments to be directed more at how much above his norm that Pearce played not whether he didn’t know that he was that good. Frankly, he really wasn’t that good which is why a year later he was gone.
The Red Sox needed to open a 40-man roster spot for Chris Sale to return from the 60-day DL, so is Austin Davis better than thin arm…yes…is he better than Darwinzon and his walk per inning…maybe…..is having a roster spot open for Chris Sale necessary…..definitely!
and you are the biggest idiot of the 2021 trade deadline
@Ghost of past pirates it was a joke lol
Pirates going big and buying at deadline
Wow, I’ll take that for Austin Davis.
I’ll say. I’d take anybody with a pulse for Austin Davis.
Yeah. Immediate middle infield help. We have certainly stockpiled them.
I mean that was certainly a choice
Pirates get their replacement for Frazier
They’ve certainly stocked up on potential candidates.
Damn it
We needed another sub .200 hitter in lineup.
Hey, at least this one has some former pedigree that could still be tapped into. Worth the shot considering the lack of cost
seeing as i’d rather see any current boston pitcher bar maybe matt andriese than watch austin davis pitch, i don’t… get it?
Rios has been decent since coming to Boston, maybe Davis can turn it around.
Wow former #1 prospect essentially traded for a pair of balls.
soxshortstop = It’s worse than that!! A former #1 prospect not given a chance to prove he was a better defender than the butcher of Boston (Dever’s nickname) who then gets forced to play out of position for years and ends up getting traded for a bag of balls!! Classic Shakespearean tragedy!!
Last 48 hours has been crazy but I love it as a Baseball fan. I would be shocked if the Dodgers don’t win the World Series. Jmo. They were already loaded
A very quick look at his career numbers show that he’ll fit right in with the Pirates.
Michael Chavis has really fallen off after all that hype from a couple years ago
What ‘hype’? He was a first round pick, and top 10 prospect. He would get mentioned in discussions, but are you saying, you remember people talking him up? I don’t. He was what he was, no more no less.
dennyd – Be fair to the kid. He had some serious home issues after he got picked number 1. Life happens and baseball players have to deal with both developing as players and being part of a family. He bounced back from it a couple of years later so he lost his prospect status due to the delay in his development caused by personal issues. It happens. During that time a kid named Devers came along who moved into his slot as 3B of the future.
He never got the shot he should have because of the relationship between the Red Sox and the program Devers came from. Maintaining the relationship with Devers’ program was more important to the Red Sox than treating the player fairly and letting Chavis compete for the 3B position. Organizational support means lots to players. Devers got it and Chavis didn’t. Heck, the organization hired a manager that cheats because they wanted to coddle Devers, then they showed Chavis the door like so many others that deserved better.
Scratching my head but trusting in Bloom. Not a big loss though, we have no place for Chavis.
Chavis for Davis. That had to be the motivating factor.
I’m appalled that Sam Travis is not involved.
Wrong Sam. I remember the shot Sam Horn hit at Yankee Stadium. If you don’t remember Horn or the HR, try to find it online. One of the longest HR’s hit to right in the rebuilt stadium (prior to the current newer one).
I was at that game in NY. The reaction of the Yankee fans all around the stadium was something else. They were crapping themselves thinking Horn might actually be the real deal, and make the Red Sox that much better. No worries lol.
Sponsored by Avis Car Rental.
Poor Ice Horse.
heck yeah, pirates getting the Stanley Cup now!
Not sure the motivation here. New system swap maybe?
Good for Chavis as he goes to a team that will give him a chance to play regularly, but man is this trade ever an example of how low the Red Sox currently view him. Traded for someone who might get DFA’d before next season!
He’ll be DFA’ed in a few days
Chavis is not looking great these days but they got an older, less experienced player in return.
I feel bad for Michael not going for the rest of the run with the Sox, but I think he’ll do well in Pittsburgh.
I thought for sure Rizzo was going to Boston. Did Boston not want to trade for him after all?
Just a guess, but I think they still believe Dalbec is their first baseman going forward and that at some point he will figure out what he can do damage on, and what to lay off of to have any success. Rizzo would block him going forward, at a price they weren’t willing to pay to block Dalbec. Bloom is looking at preserving the prospects, and the low cost possible upside on not pulling the Rizzo deal. To be honest, if the prospects, and cap weren’t in play I think Rizzo wouldn’t have even been in play, and we would have addressed the rotation with an ace caliber pitcher, or a more potent bat like Bryant..
William – Excellent point. I hope you are right that Dalbec is the future. If you consider Duran the future in CF and Verdugo the future in right field then two power bats playing left field (Renfroe and Schwarber) who go into long slumps may be the cheaper answer to having one power hitting bat that can field and hit in LF. Is a Renfroe/Schwarber combo a more cost effective solution than Benny? Absolutely not.
But hey Bloom now has time to hope some of his unproven farm hands will develop like the farm hands from the previous eras under DD and Cherington. Not likely but it’s his only hope for hanging on to his job other than the $50M to $100M in profits he has saved ownership at the fans expense.
What the AF is Chaim doing??? And is this right that we are paying his remaining salary, too?
The Red Sox front office seems intent on reloading the farm. My best guess is that Bloom will not deviate from his plan regardless of standings, hard pill for fans to swallow considering there in 1st place.
Bosox2013 – I think we need to restate your first statement. The Red Sox front office is telling fans they are reloading the farm system but the farm system prior to Bloom continues to produce better results than almost every other farm system in baseball which is why there are few big names in the farm system, they are all on the Red Sox roster.
The ILLUSION of filling the farm system is what Bloom is all about. With the dozens of moves made by Bloom to BUILD UP the farm system, doesn’t it strike you as odd that he didn’t have enough to get any players of value at the deadline with the new built up farm system?
It doesn’t surprise me because he’s playing a shell game. The adds go into the system and players are forced to leave because the rosters are finite and for each add there is a subtraction. Nobody has a clue as to whether the adds are greater than the drops, all we know is Bloom, his marketing department and his paid influencers on sites like this are telling you he’s building it up.
Look for facts. Facts like Duran, Houck and Dalbec are the farm system graduates and they all were in the farm system before Bloom arrived. I’m really struggling to understand how he can claim he is improving anything. The farm system talent was better before he arrived and the MLB talent was better before he arrived so where is the proof that refutes that statement? There is none. It’s all misdirection, smoke and mirrors. The health of the Red Sox organization is significantly DOWN since Bloom arrived. The winning in 2021 is a by-product of the 2018 Championship Team members still playing in Boston.
The two relievers the Sox picked up should slot nicely into the relief corps. They will most likely be used in those games that slip away from us saving anyone good for the games we have a chance in. Just kidding, they are both meh pick ups. Not sure we needed more relievers with the ability to run deep counts and walk guys, but it is depth. These trades are just about adding depth at low cost and hoping a change of scenery all of a sudden makes them throw strikes.
I assume the Sox are looking at Chavis as Will Middlebrooks 2.0, because the return they got is awful.
I don’t think they saw Chavis as sticking and turning things around. He was an ok fielder with ok range. His bat just hasn’t come around. What they got in return is about what I would have expected for him in a trade that was a 1 for 1 unless it was part of a larger package. Bloom was not going to dip into what little we have in the minors that would be worth it for another team to make a trade of high end guys. I didn’t expect Chavis to be on the MLB roster at all this year to be honest. I think he was a future 40 man drop, and this kind of proved it. Once I saw the Berrios asking price, and Rizzo off the board, I knew this was going to be a bust of a trade dead line.as far as adding anyone that was game changing. I do expect them to finally address 2nd base though next year, as they pray for Dalbec to figure out the strike zone, and be patient within in.
William – agree 100 percent that Chavis did not have a 40-man spot once the Rule 5s get added.
Right now IMO the Red Sox use Franchy and Dalbec at first. Franchy has been better since he returned from Worcester (still would have liked an upgrade, but the prospect price must have been too great for the pay back in production or lack there of).
My amateur take on this and the other Red Sox moves is Bloom is staying the course. Not sell the farm for this year but do what is possible but still compete next year and thereafter. Once the farm is stoked then more impactful trades can be made similar to the Padres and Dodgers farm systems. If this tactic has been mentioned earlier – sorry – I did not read all of the earlier comments…
Should have tried to get Schoop from Detroit to play first
The Pirates mascot should dress up as the Statue of Liberty and hold a sign that reads “give us your weak, poor, underachievers, former top prospects….”
I wonder if Chavis and Davis will be stopping by Mavis for new tires or Avis to rent a car. I bet Mavis Beacon taught them to type.
Just to be positive, 2018 Red Sox trades were Steve Pearce and Nate Eovaldi. They became the most important pieces during their run. You never know I guess
Am I reading Chavis’ stat line correctly? He has 1 walk this year?
1 walk in 82 plate appearances with 32 strike outs makes his sub .200 average even worse, Didn’t cost Pirates much but don’t expect him to be able to dislodge any of their other .200 hitters who at least know how to work a walk.
Good, I hope Chavis now gets to play full time.
Ben Cherington continuing the long-time Pirates GM tradition of acquiring 1st round draft busts.
Austin Davis was somewhat useful. One horrible outing skewed his stats. Without that one 4 run in 1/3 inning blowup, he’s sporting a WHIP around 1.0.
This makes little sense…..
He was never forgiven for the suspension. He had to try hit his way out of Purgatory and he didn’t. A change a venue will do him good, e.g. J.D. Martinez (AZ), David Ortiz (MN).
mlbtraderumors.com/2018/04/michael-chavis-receives…
This Red Sox team is going to drop like a stone in a lake. This is 2019 all over again, when management did nothing to help the team at the trade deadline and the team dropped 8 in a row. We needed starting pitching because we have softball lob pitchers in Perez, Pivetta, Richards, and now EROD. Bloom did nothing snd this team will be in third place in two weeks. Sad because you may not ever be in this position again.