Chavez’s Set-Back A Sign Of Things To Come?
Susan Slusser at the San Francisco Chronicle broke the news this morning that third baseman Eric Chavez has hit his first significant set-back in his recovery from his three surgeries. According to Slusser, Chavez will undergo an epidural today and will be shut-down for at least four days.
Only the most optimistic among us believed that Chavez would make a flawless comeback from his injuries, but it certainly isn’t a good sign that Chavez is having back problems this early in the season, even before he has had to climb on a plane or play an extra-inning game. I believe the A’s were expecting Chavez to be iffy this season, and have planned accordingly, but I think that the news he is already hurting has to be a discouraging way to start the year.
With injuries, however, come opportunities, and certainly Donnie Murphy and Jack Hannahan will now have real opportunities to see significant major-league time this season, as they did at the tail-end of last year. Although Hannahan saw the majority of the reps at third for the A’s late last season, Murphy is also a solid third baseman in his own right, so either could fill that role if Chavez has to start the year on the DL. Given that Murphy is right-handed and Hannahan is a lefty, they could form a nice platoon. In addition, dark horse candidates Kevin Melillo (if he can get healthy himself), Gregorio Petit, Jeff Baisley and Brooks Conrad now have an opportunity to see more time this spring at third during games, where they could be in a position to catch the eye of the A’s coaching staff.
If Chavez starts the year on the DL, it may also allow the A’s to carry both Dan Johnson and Mike Sweeney, at least at the start of the season. There was some thought that the A’s would carry Chavez, Murphy and Hannahan. Murphy and Hannahan are versatile enough that the A’s wouldn’t have to carry another infielder necessarily, even if Chavez starts on the DL. That would allow the A’s to carry another hitter such as Johnson or Sweeney, or another reliever at the start of the year to give themselves more time to evaluate their roster situation.
Either way, the most important thing is for Chavez to take his time and make his recovery complete and thorough. Oakland still has three years invested in Chavez, so it is in their best interests to get him healthy for the final two years of those three than rush him back this year and sabotage his recovery.
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4 Responses to “Chavez’s Set-Back A Sign Of Things To Come?”
February 29th, 2008 at 3:25 pm
Well, at least there was some good news today. Cust hit two home runs and even Crosby managed one himself.
I don’t know much about Hannahan’s minor league career, but I though he did pretty well last year as the back up third baseman while Chavy was down.
I would like to see Hannahan take some more ABs and maybe even win a starting job. The last thing that should be done is put Chavez on a LONG plane flight to Japan if his back is already bothering him.
Hopefully, there is still something that teams want from us that will return solid SS and 3B prospects. The year is already lost and it looks like those are the two holes that ned to be filled in the minors.
While I like Ellis, a good 2B prospect couldn’t hurt either. I don’t know if Ellis will resign with the team after his contract is up, which I believe is at the end of the year.
February 29th, 2008 at 4:43 pm
This is why, if Beane trades Blanton anywhere, it should be to the Dodgers for a package that includes Andy LaRoche. He is one of the top prospects in the nation, and would be the top 3rd base prospect were it not for a guy named Longoria.
I love Chavez, but, come on, do we really expect a healthy season EVER again from him? People generally don’t just “get over” major back problems - especially not professional baseball players who are putting more torque on their back when they swing than there should ever be in the first place. If there’s anyway to trade away the remainder of Chavey’s contract should he put together any semblance of a productive stretch where he appears healthy and attracts trade attention (uh, Mr. Sabean? We have your answer @ 3rd base) I hope that Beane jumps on it. Again, I love him, but his name should be Eric “China-Doll” Chavez.
I also hope that in the future Beane and his medical staff are a little more meticulous in going through health risks and injury history before signing players to franchise record contracts. It must be said that it’s a little uncanny how many guys Beane has signed to multi-year deals over the past few years that have become DL junkies. Harden, Crosby (I know, both signed young through their arbitration years at minimal money), Dye, Rhodes, Loaiza - here’s to better luck in that department.
March 1st, 2008 at 4:20 am
It was going to be incredibly lucky for Chavy not to have any setbacks on his road to recovery, but this seems minor. Its just stiffness and a little swelling, common after you have back surgery and you are aggressively approaching your rehab. He will be fine, though I think it will be well into June before he begins to perform at the plate.
All the more reason to love Jack Cust, and hope he can carry the load early i the season for his recovering team.
OakFoSho
March 2nd, 2008 at 2:21 pm
Supermannahan can hold down the fort at 3rd for now, and may prove that the A’s don’t need to trade for a top 3rd base prospect. Murphy and Hannahan did a fine job last year, and as long as they’re healthy I see no reason why it shouldn’t continue.
The development of the kids, and the health of Harden, Buck, and Duke are much more important.
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