PITTSBURGH -- What do you do when you’re traded to a new team, but you don’t have their bag?
If you’re Pirates infielder Michael Chavis, you break out the markers and tape -- and you get creative.
The day of Chavis’ debut with his new club, he took a photo for his Instagram story to showcase the laces on his cleats, which had smiley faces on them. But an Easter egg lay in the background of the picture: He had taped over the Red Sox insignia on the side of his old team’s bag and written, “Pirates Arrgh” with a smiley face.
Why the amateur art?
“If I was still with the Red Sox, and say we just got somebody from the Cubs and they came over and they were coming into the dugout with a Cubs bag, I’d think as a teammate, ‘Close the yearbook,’” Chavis told MLB.com. “So I was thinking that I need to show these guys: 'I’m a team guy.'”
In his first few games as a Pirate, Chavis has stepped up to be a team player with both the highs and lows. He slugged his first home run with Pittsburgh to help power a win Tuesday, but he also burned the pinch-hitter’s spot by being caught stealing later in the game and apologized to Yoshi Tsutsugo -- who was batting -- for the mistake.
Chavis said he feels blessed to be with Pittsburgh. And for those still asking: Yes, he has a Pirates bag.
“It’s official,” he said. “It’s not navy and red. It’s not drawn on, so it’s legit.”
The drawing gained traction on Twitter, which Chavis recently deleted from his phone. Pittsburgh Clothing Co. picked up the design and ran with it, creating “Pirates Arrgh” T-shirts.
“I’m so excited. I bought six of the shirts,” Chavis said. “They said they would donate all of the proceeds to charity, so I thought that was absolutely awesome.
“I love it. It’s my second game here and I already feel so loved here. I feel blessed.”
Polanco addresses waivers, criticism
Gregory Polanco has struggled this season, as he’s hit .203 and has a Major League-worst -1.2 fWAR among position players with a minimum of 200 at-bats.
But one thing was clear when Polanco talked with reporters at PNC Park on Thursday: He’s working harder than ever to be a productive baseball player.
“I’m giving 100 percent every day to get better,” Polanco said. “This has been a hard year for me, because obviously this is my [potential] free-agent year and I want to be better.”
Polanco, who has a $12.5 million team option at the end of 2021, cleared outright waivers Tuesday. The right fielder, who is the longest tenured Pirate in the organization, said he was in contact with general manager Ben Cherington and his agency when he landed in Pittsburgh on Sunday after the news broke he had been placed on waivers.
The goal all along, however, was to give Polanco a chance to go to a contender and, if not, he would remain on the active roster. It’s usually a closed-door process that isn’t uncommon behind the scenes. Throughout the process, Polanco continued to play for the Pirates, including starting in right field Thursday against the Cardinals.
When asked about continuing to turn to Polanco in the starting lineup, manager Derek Shelton said he feels it provides the best chance to win the game.
“It’s my decision,” Shelton said. “He had two hits last night. ... I know last night he made an error, but he’s played well defensively.
“The issue I would have with Gregory, or any player on our team, would be effort. I would be hard-pressed for anybody on this Zoom or anybody who’s watched us play to say that he has not had extremely good effort all year long.”
Polanco, who has been a wholly positive influence on an increasingly young clubhouse, is going to keep putting in extra cage work and fielding work to try to turn his playing career around.
And even if his option isn’t picked up by the Pirates at the end of the season, Polanco wants to show he can be a productive big leaguer for another team.
“I want to keep playing baseball as long as I can,” Polanco said. “I don’t want to retire. I don’t want to be home. I want to be on the baseball field because this is what I love.”