Andrew Chafin

Andrew Gregory Chafin

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 2", Weight 210 lb.
• School Kent State University
• High School Collins Western Reserve High School
• Debut August 13, 2014

• Born June 17, 1990 in Kettering, OH USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Andrew Chafin has been a cog in the Arizona Diamondbacks bullpen since 2015. For a time, he sported one of baseball's best mustaches, resembling an Old West gunslinger.

Chafin set his high school's record for singles as a sophomore. As a college freshman, he went 4-1 with 8 saves and a 1.26 ERA. He was All-MAC and MAC Freshman of the Year. An elbow injury sidelined him for all of 2010. As a redshirt sophomore in 2011, the left-hander was 8-1 with 105 strikeouts in 89 innings. He tied for 33rd in NCAA Division I in strikeouts and was 36th in ERA (2.02). The Arizona Diamondbacks took him 43rd overall in the 2011 amateur draft; the selection was compensation for the loss of Adam LaRoche and was Arizona's second, following fellow hurler Archie Bradley. He was signed by scout Nate Birtwell and made his pro debut with the AZL Diamondbacks on August 28.

Andrew made his major league debut as a starting pitcher for the Diamondbacks against the Cleveland Indians in the second game of a doubleheader on August 13, 2014. In 5 innings, he gave up no runs on 3 hits and left with the game still scoreless; the D-Backs eventually won, 1-0, in 12 innings. He went 0-1. 3.86 in three starts. He spent all of 2015 with Arizona as a full-time reliever. In 66 appearances he went 5-1, 2.76 with 2 saves in a very solid rookie season. In 75 innings, he gave up only 56 hits and struck out 58 opponents. After a rough and abbreviated 2016, he settled in beginning in 2017, averaging 75 appearances with ERAs hovering in the 3s. He made it to the postseason for the first time that year, getting credit for the win over the Colorado Rockies in the Wild Card Game and making a couple of appearances in Arizona's loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Division Series. In both series, he pitched just one-third of an inning, but whereas he retired the only man he faced in the Wild Card Game, he gave up 2 hits and a run in his two brief appearances in the next round.

Chafin was back in his familiar role with the D-Backs in 2018, making 77 appearances out of the bullpen while going 1-6, 3.10. His usage was very specialized, as he logged just 49 1/3 innings, striking out 53, while in 2019 his 77 games pitched amounted to just 52 2/3 innings, but he still racked up 68 Ks. He was 2-2, 3.76 in what was his final full season in Arizona. In 2020, MLB changed some rules to speed up the game, including introducing a minimum of three batters faced per reliever. Andrew was one of the pitchers affected by this new rule, given he was being used largely as a LOOGY. In addition, the season was delayed by three months by the COVID-19 pandemic, and when it finally started, he was out of sorts, giving up 6 runs in 6 2/3 innings in his first 11 outings for Arizona. On August 31st, he was traded to the Chicago Cubs for a player to be named later (Ronny Simon). He made just 4 appearances for the Cubs, giving up 1 run in 3 innings, but he did retire the only batter he faced in their loss to the Miami Marlins in the Wild Card Series.

On June 24, 2021, he was one of four Cubs pitchers to combine in pitching a 4-0 no-hitter against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Zach Davies pitched the first six innings, and Ryan Tepera, Chafin and Craig Kimbrel pitched one inning each, with Chafin taking care of the 8th. He had been doing an excellent job as Kimbrel's set-up man all season, as he went 0-2, 2.06 in 43 games, with 17 holds in 18 opportunities. The Cubs went on a losing skein after the no-hitter, and as the trade deadline approached, were considered to be sellers. Chafin was one of the targeted players, and the second to be dealt after LF Joc Pederson. On July 26th, he was sent to the Oakland Athletics in return for two prospects, OF Greg Deichmann and P Daniel Palencia. With Oakland, he went 2-2, 1.53 in 28 games, also picking up 5 saves, although the A's missed the postseason by a couple of games. Overall, his record was 2-4, 1.83 in 71 games, with 5 saves and 64 strikeouts in 68 2/3 innings. His ERA was the 5th best among all major league relievers that season.

On March 17, 2022, he signed a two-year deal with the Detroit Tigers worth $13 million. He was the third major free agent addition by Detroit that season, after P Eduardo Rodriguez and SS Javier Baez. He had a solid season for the Tigers, contrary to the other two signees, going 2-3, 2.83 in 64 games with 3 saves. He then decided to opt out of the second year of his contract, becoming a free agent again, and on February 11, 2023, signed a one-year deal with the Diamondbacks, his original team. By that point, he led all major league pitchers with 375 appearances since the beginning of the 2017 season and had also recorded an ERA+ of 140 during that span, so he was providing not just quantity but quality as well.

He describes himself as a small-town boy - he grew up in a town of barely 1,000 people - who is not comfortable in big cities. He claims that when he is in New York or San Francisco, he hardly ever leaves his hotel room. He made news in spring training in 2016 by foregoing staying in a hotel in Scottsdale and instead living in an RV instead. It was not a beat-up van à la Daniel Norris, but a top-of-the-line model that he compared to a comfortable one-bedroom apartment and allowed him to live away from busy roads and traffic. He intended to move his rig to Phoenix during the regular season rather than rent or buy lodgings in the city.

Further Reading

• Thomas Harrigan: "Chafin reuniting with D-backs on 1-year deal", mlb.com, February 11, 2023. [1]
• Nick Piecoro: "Diamondbacks lefty Andrew Chafin is living in a 42-foot RV this season", AZ Central Sports, February 25, 2016. [2]

Related Sites

• Andrew Chafin on mlb.com
• BR Minors page
• Kent State bio