Eric Chavez still adjusting to DH role

Eric Chavez was given a rare start at DH last night against lefty Doug Fister. Chavez, who is attempting to resurrect what is left of his once-storied career, went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts and a groundout. Chavez is hitting just .200 through seven games and is still getting accustomed to the DH role.

Throughout spring training, the A’s had Chavez over at firstbase in attempt to save his surgically repaired shoulders. However, after the release of Jack Cust (who recently accepted Triple-A assignment), Chavez was penciled in at DH. I was a bit shocked that the A’s moved Chavez to DH after spending an entire spring trying to get him to make the transition over to first. Chavez put in a lot of hard work, and he did do an exceptional job at firstbase during spring training.

Daric Barton, however, performed even better in spring training for the A’s. He led the majors in walks and played exceptional defense for the A’s. Through the season’s first nine games, Barton has collected 11 walks and has struck out only three times so far. He leads the A’s in RBIs with seven and OPS (.949).

But back to Chavvy. Since Chavez is an extremely slow starter and is still getting used to the DH role, I wouldn’t expect too much out of him in the early going part of the season. Especially since he hasn’t really played on an everyday basis since 2007, where he played in 90 games before getting injured.

Chavez, who doesn’t hit well against lefties, is expected to sit out from time to time when Oakland faces the occassional lefty. Other than that, Chavez will be Oakland’s starting DH.

And right now I’m just happy that Chavez is making it to the batter’s box. The fact that he’s healthy and still going strong is good news for A’s fans.