Back on Friday, the Texas Rangers made a move that set off the antennae of everybody here in Braves Country as they ended up releasing Jesse Chavez. Anybody who was making jokes about how you could officially start the countdown until the Atlanta Braves brought him back was vindicated here on Sunday morning, as the Braves have indeed done the thing again. Jesse Chavez is reportedly back with the Braves on a minor league deal. Mark Bowman of MLB.com was the first to report it and did so in hilarious fashion:
The Braves signed a reliever to a Minor League deal and he’ll be in camp today. If you can’t guess who it is, then I can’t help you.
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) March 23, 2025
For the second season in a row, Chavez latched on with an AL team in the hopes of making it onto a big league roster for Opening Day. For the second season in a row, that team released him and the Braves were more than happy to bring him right back. Chavez has spent the better part of the past four seasons with the Braves, as every attempt he’s made to stick with another organization has usually ended poorly.
Last season didn’t go super well for ol’ Uncle Jesse, either — while he finished with a perfectly fine ERA of 3.13 (75 ERA-) over 63.1 innings pitched and 46 appearances for the Braves last season, his FIP ballooned up to 4.43 (111 FIP-), which was easily the highest that that stat has been for him since he and the Braves started this dance back in 2021. With that being said his numbers for any other team have always been far worse since 2020 and his latest spring stint with his original ballclub saw him put up a 9.45 ERA and a 6.16 FIP over a handful of spring innings.
There’s no reason to think that Jesse Chavez is going to be an effective reliever again, except for the fact that this is the Atlanta Braves and Jesse Chavez. For some reason, the combination just works for both parties and now the veteran journeyman hurler heading into his age-42 season will be looking to make it happen just one more time with the Atlanta Braves.
