ATLANTA — Jesse Chavez returning to the Braves was the easiest prediction of the offseason.
So, it certainly wasn’t surprising when the Braves signed Chavez to a Minor League deal on Saturday. The veteran reliever will make a rate of $1.2 million when he is on Atlanta’s active roster.
Chavez has become one of the Braves’ most likeable and reliable relievers while posting a 2.49 ERA over 86 2/3 innings for Atlanta over the past two seasons. The 39-year-old right-hander was designated for assignment by both the Cubs and Angels within this span.
The Braves brought Chavez up from Triple-A nearly three months into the 2021 season and watched him post a 2.14 ERA over 30 appearances (33 2/3 innings). Chavez signed with the Cubs last winter but was designated for assignment after just three appearances. This led Chicago to trade him to Atlanta for Sean Newcomb, who had no future in the Braves’ system.
The Newcomb-for-Chavez trade drew a lot of social media jokes over the summer. But the more valuable trade came on Aug. 2, when the Braves traded Chavez and Tucker Davidson to the Angels for Raisel Iglesias, who may be Atlanta’s closer for the next three years.
After posting a 7.59 ERA over 11 appearances for the Angels, Chavez was placed on waivers and claimed by the Braves. Chavez posted a 1.88 ERA over the 14 appearances he made for Atlanta from Sept. 2-Oct. 3.
Chavez allowed 22 hits and 13 earned runs over the 16 1/3 innings he combined to complete for the Cubs and Angels this past season. He allowed 49 hits and 16 earned runs in the 53 innings completed for Atlanta this year.