After 657 appearances over 18 seasons with nine different clubs, right-hander Jesse Chavez announced his retirement Thursday.
The final appearance for the 41-year-old came July 13 for the Atlanta Braves against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Chavez was traded 11 times in his career, the most of any player in MLB history.
“As of now, I don’t think we’re going to keep going,” Chavez said on Foul Territory. “Time to turn the page and focus on the next chapter of life, and go help all the young kids so they don’t have to take two steps back to take three steps forward.”
Chavez went 51-66 with a 4.27 ERA during his career and had nine saves with 1,044 strikeouts in 1,142 innings. The Los Angeles-area native started his career in 2008 with the Pittsburgh Pirates and also pitched for the Braves, Kansas City Royals, Toronto Blue Jays, Oakland Athletics, Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Angels, Texas Rangers and Chicago Cubs.
He pitched in four games for the Braves this season, when he went 0-1 with a 9.00 ERA in eight innings. Chavez first pitched for the Braves in 2010 and then returned to the organization in 2021, when he won his only World Series ring. He had three separate stints with Atlanta this season alone.
“This has been a great ride and way more than I ever expected from a 42nd-round draft pick,” Chavez said. “I was given a gift early on, I understood but it was, ‘How am I going to make it last?’”