Should the Braves reunite with Jesse Chavez?

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Yesterday, the inevitable happened as the Angels announced they have released Jesse Chavez. Should the Braves be interested in a reunion?

This comes just a fews days after I talked at length about how Chavez continues to struggle pitching for any team not named the Braves.

A journeyman pitcher for nearly two decades, Chavez signed a minor-league deal with the Braves last year after contemplating retirement. A couple of months later, he was in the majors, and the rest is history. Chavez went on to become a critical piece of Atlanta’s bullpen, recording a 2.14 ERA over 33.2 regular season innings. And he was even better in the playoffs, tossing 6.1 scoreless innings.

 

I’m not sure what it is about Atlanta, but for some reason, Chavez really seems to enjoy pitching in a Braves uniform. He was lights out again this season, recording a 2.11 ERA over 38.1 innings, even though nearly all of the advanced metrics from Baseball Savant suggested he was a below-average pitcher. Maybe it’s something in the water; I can’t explain it, but Chavez simply just pitches better with the Braves. That’s why it was so surprising when it came out that he was included in the trade with the Angels for Raisel Iglesias.

The Braves bullpen remains loaded, so there’s currently no room on the major-league roster for Jesse Chavez if things go as planned, but that will change in a couple of days when the rosters expand. At the very least, Chavez can serve as quality organizational depth and insurance in case somebody struggles or is injured over the final month. He’s also a fantastic player to have in the clubhouse. I would be shocked if Alex Anthopoulos didn’t give him a call; however, who knows how interested Chavez will be in returning after the Braves shockingly parted ways with him at the trade deadline.
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