Jesse Chavez has pitched in each of the last 16 MLB seasons, appearing in 607 games as a reliever, starter, and swingman with nine different teams. Chavez is a free agent still looking to land his next contract, but in an interview on the “Loud Outs” show on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM, the 40-year-old revealed that he will likely be retiring after one more season.
“This is probably going to be it. We all talked about me going out the way I came in — being able to roll out of bed and pick up a baseball and throw it,” Chavez said. “And that’s how I feel still. So I feel like that’s kind of unique in a way, where we don’t get that option too many times when we can go home healthy….Like every year, we’ll probably give it all we have, and go into coaching next season.”
Chavez has had his share of injuries over his long career, including an absence of over three months last season after he was hit in the leg by a comebacker. That lengthy IL stint limited him to 34 1/3 innings and 36 appearances for the Braves, yet Chavez had an impact with a 1.56 ERA. Even with a 3.35 SIERA that accounts for some strand rate (81.2%) and batted-ball (.273 BABIP) fortune, Chavez still had an above-average strikeout rate, solid hard-contact numbers, and a career-best 51.7% grounder rate.
It continued what has quietly been a bit of a renaissance for Chavez in the twilight of his career, as the right-hander has a 2.81 ERA over 137 2/3 innings since Opening Day 2021. He struggled in brief stints with the Cubs and Angels in 2022, but has otherwise been excellent in a Braves uniform, including a 2.14 ERA in 33 2/3 innings for Atlanta’s World Series championship club in 2021.
Chavez has had to settle for minor league deals in each of the last three years, though in both 2022 and 2023, the Cubs and Braves quickly selected Chavez’s contract to the Major League roster right at the start of the season. Considering how Chavez is coming off a significant injury, he might have to sign another minors deal again, though with perhaps an unofficial handshake agreement in place to immediately make him part of the Opening Day roster.
A reunion with the Braves can’t be ruled out, given that Atlanta has acquired and re-acquired Chavez four different times in the last three years. Chavez and his 90.8mph fastball may not be an exact fit within the bullpen given how Atlanta has prioritized adding high-velocity arms this offseason, yet Chavez has still been able to get results, to say nothing off his off-the-field contributions as a clubhouse leader. Perhaps already acting as something of a player/coach within the relief corps, it sets Chavez up well for his post-playing ambitions of a coaching career.
Great career. Borderline hall of Famer.
?!
Who else is on your Hall of Fame ballot? Ray Culp? Ivan Murrell? Mark Fidrych?
Ray Culp……you may be as old as I am.
You gotta be trying to get replies lol. Jesse Chavez for the HOF, lololol. Pete Rose should have the Hall Of Fame named after him then.
Love to see the Braves bring Chavez back.
Bring JD and JC back to Oakland for one last hurrah!
Cmon Braves, we love uncle jesse!
Not sure why the “prioritization of high-octane arms” idea keeps being paraded out as fact when it was just the speculation of one of the beat writers. If anything, what *has* been a common theme is secondaries with excellent whiff rates, regardless of whether their velocity is pretty high (Reynaldo Lopez), middle of the road (Chris Sale), or very slow (Penn Murfee), which tracks with AA’s remarks about wanting to improve at getting whiffs.
“Borderline Hall of Famer” At the rate the HOF is being watered-down by the sabermetrics crowd, fairly soon guys like Jesse Chavez will be getting into the Hall.
Roughly 1 out of every 100 players ever are in HOF. The notion that it is watered down are absolutely false.
And if you want to point to watered down there is much more water near the start of the HOF opposed to now by both traditional and analytical stats.
I know this is hard for the nostalgic to except, they re to busy trying to romanticize an era they grew up watching….
He’s saying it will be eventually if people want middle relievers like Chavez in. Or failed starters would be more accurate. Just because he’s merely been effective. He wasn’t saying it is now.
Nobody is saying Chavez should get in and he ll drop off after 1st ballot.
He said “at the rate the HOF is being watered-down” those are his words. That statement is simply not true.
Another stint in Texas should be nice. He has been traded too many times.
Sign somewhere else, Uncle Jesse, so the Braves can bring you back for another playoff run!
If the Braves don’t bring him back, I’ll be really disappointed.
Chavez can’t disappoint bhambrave. Come on back Chavez.
No roster spots
Would love to see Chavez keep playing. Sometimes all stories have to come to an end.
I would be surprised as much as he is loved by the Braves both fans and teammates if he didn’t come back to Atlanta. Pretty sure they would just do like before a minor league deal and let him show us again he has stuff left in the tank.
I could see the Braves motto win another one for Jessie.
Would love to see him back with the A’s. FU John Fisher
Bully for him. A guy with his stuff still kicking around the majors is good to see. 16 years is 16 years.
My guess is he’d be done, but we’ll see.
Still pitching at 40. Not too shabby for a 42nd round pick.
Given his 2023 performance, I’m shocked nobody has picked him up for like 1 year/$4M or something like that.
Look who’s angling for a farewell tour.
I’m “probably” going to claim things on my taxes
Bring him back Braves and let him retire as Brave, he deserves it
A’s closer.
If the Braves can bring Charlie Culberson back, they can surely bring Jesse back.
And then put him in the Braves Hall of Fame.!!!
Ole Man Jesse Chavez is like fine wine – he gets better with age.
and to think I used his baseball cards to smooth the spackle on my house paint job.
Talk about throwing money away.
Gotta love a guy like Uncle Jesse he never gave up kept getting up when knocked down kept on trucking and got better with age! He belongs in a Braves jersey untill he says no mas or arm falls off even if his arm fell off he would find a way to get the next guy up…. My kind of player !
Gotta be honest, didn’t realize Jesse was still in the league.
Us Braves fans certainly did…he’s been great in an Atlanta uniform
Very nice career and an excellent person! Hope the Braves bring him to spring training.
Yeah, don’t get me wrong, he’s had a really good career. I just didn’t watch a tonne of ball last year and didn’t know he had such a good season for the Braves.
I say give him a 5-gallon bucket to sit on and some kind of bullpen coaching position. Throwing Sub-90MPH fastballs will not get batters out on a regular basis. Maybe OK for batting practice!
If Jesse wants one more season, I hope he gets it.