Skip to content

Angels sign Chavez to 1-year deal

Icon Sportswire / Getty

The Los Angeles Angels beefed up their rotation depth Friday, signing veteran right-hander Jesse Chavez to a one-year contract.

The deal is worth $5.75 million, according to multiple reports, with another $3 million available in incentives.

Poised to join the seventh team of his meandering, nine-year career, Chavez will get the chance to start next season despite spending all of 2016 in the bullpen. Acquired by the Blue Jays last winter, Chavez struggled in Toronto and didn't fare much better after getting shipped to the Dodgers at the trade deadline, posting a cumulative 4.43 ERA and 1.33 WHIP while serving up 12 homers in 67 innings. Since making his MLB debut in 2008, the 33-year-old owns a 4.54 ERA over 604 2/3 innings.

Chavez, however, was a serviceable starter in Oakland over the two seasons prior to 2016, posting a 3.95 ERA with a 2.80 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 47 starts with the A's. He will slot in behind Garrett Richards, Ricky Nolasco, Matt Shoemaker, and Tyler Skaggs in a rotation that finished in the bottom five in the American League in ERA (4.60), innings pitched (877 1/3), strikeout rate (18.4 percent), opponents' batting average (.272), and home runs per nine innings (1.43) in 2016.

Daily Newsletter

Get the latest trending sports news daily in your inbox