BOSTON -- The door is opening for Michael Chavis to stay at second base with the Red Sox for the foreseeable future.
On Tuesday, manager Alex Cora revealed that infielder Brock Holt will be shut down with a shoulder impingement that has bothered him since spring training. Both manager and player hope it's nothing major, but for now they're taking no chances.
"It's not a great scenario because we want him to play, but he feels like it's not going to take that long," Cora said. "So he'll get treatment and all that and hopefully he can get back sooner rather than later."
He also noted that second baseman Dustin Pedroia should begin a rehab stint at Double-A Portland on Thursday, but there's still no timetable for his return, either. Cora earlier told WEEI that he's not viewing this as Pedroia's last stand, but added that Pedroia recognizes he needs to be a full-time player.
"He's knows it's too hard to only play him every couple of games," Cora told OMF.
So that leaves a giant opportunity for Chavis, the mashing rookie who is hitting .286 with three homers and a 1.071 OPS in his first nine games. Cora was asked what he's seen from the youngster so far.
"Same thing you're probably seeing," Cora said. "He controls the strike zone. We know we're going to see swings and misses sometimes, but when he stays in the middle of the field, he becomes more dangerous. You saw the line drive against (Tyler) Glasnow on the breaking ball, the home run off Glasnow up the middle, straight center. The double in Tampa, that's a good sign."
Cora invoked a couple of impressive names when discussing Chavis's plan of attack as a right-handed hitter.
Boston Red Sox
"Don't write it, I'm not saying he's J.D. (Martinez) or Manny (Ramirez), I'm just saying those two who are really, really good," Cora said. "They hit fastballs at this place to right-center and whenever (the pitcher) hangs something, they hit it over the wall. With him, that's something he'll learn that he can stay up the middle and whenever there's a mistake up in the zone he can put a good swing on it and hit it off the wall. Pitchers will attack him a little bit different probably. He's smart, he takes notes, paying attention to the game, he asks questions so, so far, so good."
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