After getting released by the White Sox on Saturday, Braves fans were quick to call for Jesse Chavez's return to Atlanta. Even the King of Potassium, the Savannah Bananas mascot called for the Braves to reunite with the fan favorite.
On Monday morning, the Braves listened, announcing the most inevitable news: the king has returned!
The #Braves today signed RHP Jesse Chavez to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training. Atlanta now has 29 players in camp.
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) March 25, 2024
Jesse Chavez has become a fan favorite since rejoining the Braves for his second stint in 2021, where he pitched in 30 games, had a 2.14 ERA, and was the fifth-best reliever on the World Series team, right behind the night shift.
Since then, he's rejoined the team three different occasions. After the 2021 season, he signed with the Cubs, only to come back to the Braves in an April trade for Sean Newcomb. That July, the Braves traded him to the Angels in the Raisel Iglesias trade, where he pitched for a month before being released and re-signing with the Braves just in time for the postseason.
Chavez was on the Braves the entire season last year and looked like he could have been a potential All-Star before a comebacker off the bat of Miguel Cabrera struck his shin and shut down the 40-year-old vet for the next three months.
He still finished the season with an impressive 1.56 ERA in 34.2 innings. He also had a 27.1% strikeout-rate, which was his career-high in a season.
This offseason, Chavez signed with the White Sox on a minor league deal, but baseball fans were already predicting a Braves reunion. After a poor first Spring Training game, that fire was fueled even more.
Chavez finished this spring with a 11.57 ERA in seven innings for the White Sox, although it's important to point out that six of the nine earned runs came in the first game where Chicago inexplicably let a reliever throw 41 pitches in the very first game of Spring Training.
Chavez has been significantly better with the Braves than he has been with any other team in his MLB career. Including his 2010 stint with the club, he has a 3.08 ERA in 158 innings. On any other team, he has a 4.52 ERA in 912.2 innings.
Clearly, the Braves have the secret sauce for Chavez, and Braves fans are ecstatic for his return.
Jesse Chavez with the script A on his cap pic.twitter.com/tKedT4bZnB
— Blooper (@BlooperBraves) March 25, 2024