Jesse’s back.


Jesse Chavez is back for a third stint with the Texas Rangers.

By now this is old news. About as old as the person the news is about.

For the third time, the Rangers have acquired Jesse Chavez, the forty-one-year-old reliever who seems to have pitched for everyone but Father Time. In their quest to stay under the luxury tax threshold, the Rangers apparently got the senior citizen’s discount.

In his seventeen-year big league career, he’s had a major league journey that would keep a travel agent busy. Pittsburgh to Altanta to Kansas City to Toronto to Oakland back to Toronto to Los Angeles then to the other Los Angeles to Texas to Chicago to Texas again to Atlanta to the Los Angeles in Anaheim to Atlanta.

In forty-six games for the Braves last season, Chavez posted a decent 3.13 ERA. That he finished sixteen games but didn’t pick up a save tells you he is the guy they sent in to close out the game when Atlanta was losing. Still, he pitched well enough to rack up a 133 ERA+ .

Texas still needs a closer. Chavez has eight saves in his last eight seasons, so he certainly cannot be counted on to be that guy. That is to say, he shouldn’t be counted on to be that guy. Or even more direct, he’d better not be counted on to be that guy.

But he’s a solid right-handed reliever out of the bullpen with tons of experience. The Rangers offseason makeover of the bullpen continues.

All they need is a closer.