As the old tale goes, the Braves have elected not to bring Jesse Chavez back to Atlanta, so he’s signed elsewhere before he inevitably returns home. The veteran has inked a minor league deal with the Rangers, per the club’s official Twitter/X account.
https://twitter.com/Rangers/status/1883983614708519384
I’m only half kidding about him flaming out in Texas and returning to Atlanta, but would anyone really be surprised?
Chavez has pitched in each season for the Braves dating back to 2021, when he was a key piece to the bullpen that helped lead the club to the World Series; he just never begins the year in Atlanta.
The Braves have traded him multiple times and picked him up off waivers a couple more. The old tale goes: Chavez signs elsewhere, pitches terribly, and then comes back to Atlanta, where he turns into the best version of himself.
He experienced some regression this past season. In 2023, Chavez posted an eye-popping 1.56 ERA, but that number ballooned to 3.16 ERA, which is still a more than respectable figure; however, there was a decline in his peripherals, particularly his strikeout rate.
Even still, he was never going to require a major league contract, so I’m a bit stunned that the Braves weren’t interested. Jesse Chavez actually began his career with the Rangers, drafted in 2002, but he was traded to the Pirates before making his major league debut.
If all things go according to plan, he’ll flame out in Texas before returning to Atlanta, where he’ll turn into prime Mariano Rivera.
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David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire
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