Former Pirates Relief Pitcher Announces Retirement

PITTSBURGH — A former Pittsburgh Pirates reliever ended their lengthy baseball career this past week.

Right-handed relief pitcher Jesse Chavez announced his retirement from baseball on the podcast, "Foul Territory", ending an 18-year career in the MLB.

Chavez hails from San Gabriel, Calif. and attended Fontana A.B. Miller High School in Fontana, Calif. He would play for Riverside Community College, posting a sub-2.00 ERA in each of his two seasons, with a 24-7 record.

The Texas Rangers took Chavez in the 2002 MLB Draft and would eventually trade him to the Pirates on July 31, 2006 for left-handed starting pitcher Kip Wells.

Chavez spent most of 2008 with Triple-A Indianapolis, making 51 appearances and posting a 3.80 ERA, before earning promotion to the MLB on Aug. 27, where he made his debut the same day.

He made 15 appearances for the Pirates in 2008, with a 0-1 record, a 6.60 ERA over 15.0 innings pitched, 16 strikeouts to nine walks, a .328 opposing batting average and a 1.93 WHIP.

Chavez had the most career appearances in a season in 2008, coming out of the bullpen 73 times for the Pirates. He finished with a 1-4 record, a 4.01 ERA over 67.1 innings pitched, 15 holds, four blown save opportunities, 47 strikeouts to 22 walks, a .264 opposing batting average and a 1.35 WHIP.

The Pirates would trade Chavez in the offseason to the Tampa Bay Rays on Nov. 13, 2009 for second baseman Akinora Iwamura, who they eventually traded to the Atlanta Braves on on Dec. 10 for right-handed pitcher Rafael Soriano.

Chavez finished his time with the Pirates with a 1-5 record in 88 appearances, a 4.48 ERA over 82.1 innings pitched, 63 strikeouts to 31 walks and a 1.46 WHIP.

He would pitch around numerous teams over his MLB career, including numerous stints with the Braves (2010, 2021, 2022, 2022-25), winning the 2021 World Series, plus the Rangers (2018, 2019-20), Toronto Blue Jays (2012, 2016), the Chicago Cubs (2018, 2022) and the Los Angeles Angels (2017, 2022).

Chavez also pitched the longest for the Oakland Athletics (2012-15) and has also played for the Kansas City Royals (2010-11) and the Los Angeles Dodgers (2016), making it nine teams he pitched for in his MLB career.