Jesse Chavez

On July 31, Chavez pitched against the Blue Jays for the first time since being traded to Oakland and took the loss, yielding 3 runs in the 10th inning.

Chavez was originally drafted in the 39th round out of high school by the Chicago Cubs, but opted to attend college instead.

Jesse David Chavez (born August 21, 1983) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Chicago White Sox organization.

He played college baseball at Riverside Community College, and was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 42nd round of the 2002 Major League Baseball Draft.

He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Atlanta Braves, Kansas City Royals, Toronto Blue Jays, Oakland Athletics, Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Angels, and Chicago Cubs, in addition to three other stints with the Atlanta Braves prior to 2023, one of which included a World Series win in 2021.

Chavez was born in San Gabriel, California.

A graduate of Fontana A.B. Miller High School in Fontana, California, Chavez later attended Riverside Community College, where he spent two seasons.

During his freshman season at Riverside, Chavez went 13–2 with a 1.96 ERA and 11–5 with a 1.93 ERA for his sophomore season.

Chavez was later drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 2002 Major League Baseball Draft out of Riverside Community College.

In 2006 Chavez was promoted to Triple-A Oklahoma where he pitched one game before being traded.

The Rangers traded Chavez to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Kip Wells on July 31, 2006.

He was assigned to the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians where he pitched the rest of the season and all of 2007.

Chavez appeared in 51 games for the Indians in 2007, pitching to a 3.80 earned run average (ERA), and was promoted to the majors on August 27, making his debut the same day.

He had a 4.48 ERA in 821⁄3 innings pitched for the Pirates from 2008 to 2009.

The Pirates traded Chavez on November 3, 2009, to the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for second baseman Akinori Iwamura.

On December 10, he was traded again, to the Atlanta Braves for Rafael Soriano.

He had a 5.89 ERA in 362⁄3 innings pitched for the Braves in 2010.

On July 31, 2010, Chavez was traded to the Kansas City Royals along with Gregor Blanco and Tim Collins for Rick Ankiel and Kyle Farnsworth.

He had a 6.95 ERA in 332⁄3 innings pitched for the Royals from 2010 to 2011.

The Royals designated him for assignment on October 11, 2011.

On October 21, 2011, he was claimed off waivers by the Toronto Blue Jays.

He was designated for assignment on December 12 but cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A.

On May 27, 2012, Chavez was called up from the Triple-A Las Vegas 51s.

He was 6–2 with a 3.72 ERA in 10 games with Las Vegas.

He was recalled on August 4.

On August 5, however, he was sent back down to make room for the promotion of Chad Jenkins from the New Hampshire Fisher Cats.

Chavez was traded to the Oakland Athletics on August 24, 2012, in exchange for cash considerations.

Chavez began the 2013 season with the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats.

He was recalled by Oakland on April 20, and sent back to Sacramento on April 29.

He was recalled again on May 10.

On June 13, Chavez pitched 52⁄3 shutout innings of relief in an 18-inning game against the New York Yankees, earning the win.

Chavez was added to Oakland's starting rotation to open the 2014 season, due to the spring injuries of Jarrod Parker and A.J. Griffin.

He set career highs in starts and innings pitched, and finished with an 8–8 record with a 3.45 ERA.

On January 12, 2015, Chavez and the Athletics agreed to a one-year deal worth $2.15 million, avoiding arbitration.

Chavez was placed in the bullpen to start the season.

On April 23, he was moved to the rotation and ended up making 26 starts for Oakland, a career high, pitching to a 7–15 record and a 4.18 ERA.

His season ended in mid-September when he was diagnosed with a non-displaced fracture in his ribs.

On November 20, 2015, the Athletics traded Chavez to the Blue Jays for Liam Hendriks.

He and the Blue Jays did not come to an agreement before the salary arbitration deadline on January 15, 2016.

Chavez was seeking $4 million, while the Blue Jays countered at $3.6 million.