Jesse Chavez retiring after 18 seasons
Veteran relief pitcher Jesse Chavez said he's retiring from baseball after 18 seasons.
"I haven't picked up a baseball since my last pitch (with the Atlanta Braves) in St. Louis. As of now, I don't think we're going to keep going. I think this is it. Time to turn the page and focus on the next chapter in life," Chavez said Thursday during an appearance on "Foul Territory."
The 41-year-old made his debut in the majors with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2008. A 42nd-round pick of the Texas Rangers in 2002, he pitched for nine MLB teams, including multiple stints with the Braves, Rangers, Toronto Blue Jays, Los Angeles Angels, and Chicago Cubs and four years with the Oakland Athletics. He also had brief tenures with the Kansas City Royals and Los Angeles Dodgers.
No player in MLB history has been traded more than the right-handed Chavez, who was dealt 10 times.
Chavez spent parts of six seasons with Atlanta. Following his brief initial stop in 2010, he came back in 2021 and enjoyed a career year en route to winning a World Series ring, then left in free agency. The California native returned to the Braves two separate times in 2022 and repeatedly came back as a free agent over the last three years. Atlanta designated him for assignment last week, and he chose to explore free agency but didn't sign elsewhere. He last played July 13 versus the Cardinals, allowing four earned runs in two innings. He walks away with a 3.30 ERA and 1.24 WHIP over 190 appearances for the Braves.
Chavez owns a career 4.27 ERA with a 4.24 FIP, 1.33 WHIP, and 1,044 strikeouts across 1,142 MLB innings.