To say Jesse Chavez has revived his career in Atlanta would be an understatement. The 40-year-old journeyman has played for nine different teams over his career, and his best work has come over the last few years in several different stints with the Braves.
Last season, Chavez was amid a career year and possibly up for his first ever All-Star Game, but a line drive off the bat of Miguel Cabrera fractured his leg, and he never made it all the way back. It’s obvious he can still provide something out of the bullpen for a competitive team, and he’s aiming to give it one last ride before going off into the sunset and calling it a career… as a player. Chavez also said that once he’s done playing he hopes to get into coaching right after.
“This is probably going to be it. We all talked about me going out the way I came in — being able to roll out of bed and pick up a baseball and throw it,” Chavez said on MLB Network Radio, via MLB Trade Rumors. “And that’s how I feel still. So I feel like that’s kind of unique in a way, where we don’t get that option too many times when we can go home healthy….Like every year, we’ll probably give it all we have, and go into coaching next season.”
As the saying goes, you can never have enough pitching. The Braves are loaded with talented arms from their rotation to their bullpen. Most fans would love to see Jesse Chavez play his final season in Atlanta, and I’m sure Chavez wouldn’t mind it either. For whatever reason, he’s been a different beast when rocking a tomahawk across his chest.
However, Jesse Chavez may prefer to sign somewhere that’s more of a sure thing. There are a multitude of clubs that could use his services and essentially guarantee him a spot on the major-league roster. The Braves aren’t one of those teams. Chavez would have to put together a stellar Spring Training to be apart of the 26-man on Opening Day. For a pitcher who is 40-years-old, that’s a risky proposition.
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Photo: Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire
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