Red Sox's Michael Chavis: Dropped from active roster

The Red Sox optioned Chavis to their taxi squad Sunday.Chavis' stay on the 26-man roster lasted just one day after J.D. Martinez (illness) -- who was placed on the COVID-19 injured list Saturday -- cleared MLB's health and safety protocols ahead of Sunday's series finale in Baltimore. Since Chavis will still be part of Boston's five-man taxi squad, he could be in store for a call-up during the team's ongoing road trip if the Red Sox require another position player at any point.

Red Sox's Michael Chavis: Rejoins big-league club

Chavis was recalled from the alternate training site Saturday.The 25-year-old will take the roster spot of J.D. Martinez, who was placed on the COVID-19 injured list while experiencing cold symptoms. Chavis should fill a bench role until Martinez is able to rejoin the team.

Red Sox's Michael Chavis: Chasing pitches

Chavis failed to control the strike zone throughout spring training, which was a factor in the Red Sox sending him to the alternate camp, Christopher Smith of MassLive.com reports.Chavis lost out on the final roster spot to Christian Arroyo. Having minor-league options while Arroyo did not likely factored into the decision, but Red Sox manager Alex Cora spoke to Chavis chasing pitches. "We talk about a few things that he needs to do to be the complete hitter we know he can be. I think at the end, he didn't control the strike zone. He was very aggressive chasing pitches out of the zone," Cora said. Chavis had a 1.129 OPS over the first 18 spring games, but the infielder went just 2-for-17 with eight strikeouts over the final seven contests. He'll start the season at Triple-A Worcester and work on understanding the upper edge of the strike zone and driving pitches in the zone.