Eric Chavez

Anonymous wants to know:

How about Eric Chavez amongst that group of corners?

As you all know, Chavez was activated from the disabled list yesterday, batted clean-up, and DHed for the A's. The current plan is to play him at 3B every two days out of three, with the third day either being an off day or a day at DH, depending on how Chavy feels.

To me, the biggest question isn't whether or not Chavez will stay healthy. At this point, in a deep A.L.-only league, you either own him or are going to have to pay full market value for him in trade (full market value being the price his owner paid at auction). If you own him, you're banking on relative good health. If you don't, you're trading for relative good health. So this question seems pointless to me.

My question is what will Chavez do if he stays healthy.

Last winter, I wrote:

Chavez was one of the more panned picks in the auction last Tuesday. I could see why: he's missed time due to injuries the last three years, and his production when he's been on the field has regressed from 2005-2007. He could bounce back, of course, but seems like a poor bet with so many other decent 3B out there.

My biggest issue with players like Chavez is with their production when they're on the field. Some players, like Milton Bradley, are studs when they're healthy, and their per AB production is solid enough to take the risk on. Others, like Chavez, seem to have been banged up for so long that it takes a toll on their overall numbers.

From 2002-2004, Chavez put up OPSs of 861, 864, and 898. Even though he only put up 475 AB in 2004, his per AB production was strong. From 2005-2007, however, he stumbled, with OPSs of 795, 786, and 752.

I'm not saying that Chavez can't be more productive if he's completely healthy. My argument is that he's always hurt or banged up in one way, shape, or form, and we haven't seen strong production from him in over three seasons. It's possible that he could bounce back, but I wouldn't bet on it.

Looking at the last three years as a template, I'd say the best case scenario for Chavez is about 375 AB (which already assumes he'll play almost every game down the stretch), 17 HR, 55 RBI, and a .260 BA. A worst case scenario puts him at a more tepid 13 HR, 40 RBI, and .240 BA.

Ranking him among the five players from yesterday, I'd still put Mora and Millar ahead of Chavez, leave Sexson and Lamb behind him, and slot Konerko in behind him until Konerko's thumb gets better.