He’s back, but does he have more magic?
The Braves don’t always make memes manifest in real life, but when they do, there’s a good chance that Jesse Chavez is involved. For a second straight year; the Braves didn’t sign Chavez earlier in the offseason, but added him towards the very tail end of Spring Training. Barring injury or a cut, Coach Chavez will make a major league Braves appearance in a fifth straight season in 2025.
Part of the meme-ing is that it’s not like Chavez has been chopped liver that the team trots out anyway. Despite being a completely different reliever than the fireballers with great sliders and poor command that are en vogue right now, and despite arguably having a tougher role due to the need to throw both short- and long-stint relief, often within a few days of one another, Chavez has been really good as a Brave: 2.4 fWAR in 184 2⁄3 innings (over 0.8 fWAR per 65 innings), with a 61 ERA-, 81 FIP-, and 85 xFIP-. That might not be dominant reliever territory, but it’s certainly well above average, especially considering his role.
Chavez didn’t show any signs of slipping performance-wise through 2023, but took a step back last year (75/111/96, with the 111 FIP- leading to negative fWAR). That line was more akin to the sort of mop-up guy he’s often used as, but even it wasn’t all that bad. He’s projected to be replacement level-ish going forward, which is probably less a comment on him or his 2024, and more that he’s already 41 years old and replacement level for a reliever is tough given changing usage.
Anyway, enough from me: what do you think Chavez is going to do with the Braves in 2025? It could be nothing at all. It could be 2021-2023 Braves Chavez, all over again. It could be something in between. What do you think?