Jesse Chavez

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Jesse David Chavez

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Biographical Information[edit]

Journeyman hurler Jesse Chavez has seen action with nine teams in a sixteen-season career, many of them for multiple stints (as of the end of the 2023 season). He has been involved in nine separate player trades - not counting the times he was claimed on waivers or signed with a team as a free agent. As a result, he's become a legend in the baseball version of the game Immaculate Grid, where picking out players who have appeared for two specific teams is key to achieving a good score.

After laboring in relief exclusively apart from two starts in 2012, Jesse was a big wheel in the Oakland A's rotation in 2014, going 8-8 with a 3.45 ERA and striking out 136 hitters in 32 games (146 innings). When he regressed somewhat in 2015 (7-15, 4.18, 136 strikeouts in 30 games and 157 innings), it was back to bouncing around. He enjoyed a really good season in relief split between the Chicago Cubs and Texas Rangers in 2018, with a 5-2, 2.55 record, 5 saves and 92 strikeouts in 95 1/3 innings, parlaying this success into a two-year deal with the Rangers. When he pitched one inning for the Cubs against the Colorado Rockies in the 2018 Wild Card Game, it was his first postseason appearance in his eleventh major league season.

He did pitch two full seasons with the Rangers in 2019 and 2020, going 3-5, 4.85 as a swingman the first year, and 0-0, 6.88 in 18 relief appearances the second. It looked like he was reaching the end of the line, but he followed that with a solid season with the Atlanta Braves in 2021, going 3-2, 2.14 in 30 games, including 4 starts. He played in three discrete postseason rounds and was unscored upon in a total of 6 1/3 innings to earn a World Series ring when the Braves defeated the Houston Astros in the Fall Classic. His seven postseason appearances that year included one start, in Game 4 of the NLCS against the Los Angeles Dodgers on October 20th. It was obvious he was just an opener, as he had pitched in relief in the two previous games in the series, including the day before, but he still gave the Braves a perfect 1st inning as they went on to win the game, 9-2, as six pitchers combined their efforts.

In 2022, he pitched for three different teams - all of which he had pitched for at an earlier point in his career. He first made three relief appearances for the Cubs, with whom he had signed as a free agent over the winter, then on April 21st was traded back to the Braves on April 21st in return for Sean Newcomb. He made 31 appearances for them until the end of July, then was traded to the Los Angeles Angels along with Tucker Davidson in return for closer Raisel Iglesias. He pitched 11 times for the Angels in August but was ineffective, putting up an ERA of 7.59 and was placed on waivers on August 29th, only to be picked up again by the Braves the next day. He made another 15 appearances for the Braves before the end of the season, for a grand total of 60 over the four stops, with a record of 4-3 and a 3.76 ERA. He capped off that strange season with two more outings in the Division Series against the Philadelphia Phillies. He returned to the Braves in 2023 at age 39 and had a more stable year, going 1-0, 1.56 in 36 games, but missed extensive time with a left shin contusion. He returned from the injury in late September after missing three months, but did not pitch in the postseason.

On February 16, 2024, he signed as a free agent with the Chicago White Sox. If he were to make the team out of spring training, it would add a tenth team to his list.

Notable Achievements[edit]

Further Reading[edit]

  • Scott Chiusano: "Can Immaculate Grid legend Jesse Chavez name all his teams in order?", mlb.com, February 20, 2024. [1]
  • Matt Monagan: "This is the most traded player ever: One man. 15 seasons. Nine trades", mlb.com, August 2, 2022. [2]

Related Sites[edit]

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