Veteran reliever Chavez back with Braves on minor league deal

NORTH PORT, Fla. (AP) — Jesse Chavez returned to the Atlanta Braves once again — and got right back to work.

The 41-year-old Chavez pitched two innings on Sunday against Baltimore. The right-hander allowed two runs, one earned, and three hits.

Chavez was reassigned to minor league camp after the game — one day after he agreed to a minor league deal with the Braves. He was released by Texas on Friday.

Atlanta also traded right-hander Ian Anderson to the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday for left-hander José Suarez. The 27-year-old Suarez is 20-29 with a 5.47 ERA in 99 career games — all with the Angels.

Chavez appeared in regular-season games with Atlanta in 2010 and each of the previous four years. He faced a similar situation in 2024, when he was released by the White Sox near the end of spring training and agreed to a minor league contract with the Braves.

He was first acquired by Atlanta in a December 2009 trade with Tampa Bay. He also signed minor league deals with the Braves in April 2021 and November 2022. He also was traded to Atlanta by the Chicago Cubs in April 2022.

Chavez is 12-9 with a 3.09 ERA in 186 career games with the Braves. He is 51-65 with a 4.24 ERA in 653 games overall, also playing for the A's, Rangers, Pirates, Angels, Blue Jays, Cubs, Royals and Dodgers.

Atlanta has been active in the runup to its opener at San Diego on Thursday.

The Braves signed outfielder Alex Verdugo to a $1.5 million, one-year contract on Thursday. Former Braves closer Craig Kimbrel and catcher James McCann agreed to minor league deals with the team last week. Veteran reliever Héctor Neris agreed to a minor league deal on March 3 and then made the team's opening-day roster.

Kimbrel and McCann were reassigned to minor league camp on Sunday, and right-hander Bryce Elder was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett.

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