Athletics pitcher Jesse Chavez is making a push to join the starting rotation this year, even though he doesn't know if he's earned it yet.
"I think I opened eyes enough, but I don't think I did enough because I didn't keep it," Chavez said at Spring Training on Monday. "Now, if I get it, I gotta keep it. That's my mentality. I wanna ride it out."
Chavez reported to camp a bit heavier than he ended the 2014 season, weighing it at 170 pounds after finishing last year at 157.
"I feel way stronger," he said. "That's such a cliche thing for me to say, but for my size, it's a huge deal, and I can tell just by playing catch, the early side sessions, the way the ball's coming out, it just feels like I don't have to use anymore extra effort now that I've built all that muscle."