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The Toronto Blue Jays have taken 28 year-old righthander Jesse Chavez off the waiver wire from the Kansas City Royals.

Jesse Chavez has pitched for three major league clubs and drafted by two others.



Chavez was a 42nd round selection by the Texas Rangers in the 2002 amateur draft out of Riverside Community College.   His stay in the Rangers organization ended at the July 31 trade deadline in 2006 as he was dealt to Pittsburgh for fellow righty Kip Wells

In 2008, Chavez made his major league debut with the Bucs August 27 and struck out a batter in a perfect inning against the Cubs - the team he was first drafted by in 1999 when he went in the 39th round after his high school career in Fontana, California.  He struck out 16 batters in 15 innings but was 0-1 with a 6.60 ERA and a 1.93 WHIP.  The Victorville, California native made 73 appearances in relief in 2009 with the Pirates and finished with a 1-4 record with a 4.01 ERA.  His K/9 rate dipped to 6.3 but he cut his walk rate by 2 1/2 to 2.9 per nine innings.  He finished 24 games and earned 15 holds.  However, Chavez changed addresses twice in the off-season by being traded to Tampa Bay for second baseman Akinori Iwamura in November before being flipped to Atlanta in December for fellow reliever Rafael Soriano.

The 6-foot-2, 170 pound pitcher won three of five decisions with the Braves in 2010 but had an ERA of 5.89 despite better command with a 29-12 K/BB ratio in 36 2/3 innings.  However, he gave up six homers among his 40 hits allowed.  He was again dealt at the trade deadline July 31 to Kansas City with former Jays minor league lefty Tim Collins and infielder Gregor Blanco in exchange for outfielder Rick Ankiel and reliever Kyle Farnsworth.  As a Royal, Chavez went 2-3 and lowered his ERA by a whole 0.01 from his time with Atlanta.  His command suffered as he struck out 16 and walked 11 in 26 innings.

The 2011 season saw Chavez spend most of his time as a Storm Chaser in Omaha.  He saved 16 games with the Royals Triple-A club and struck out 54 batters while walking just 16 in 57 2/3 innings.  He posted a 2-4 record with a 3.75 ERA.  He was called up by Kansas City for one game in June and made three more appearances in September.  However, he had just one scoreless outing for the Royals as he gave up two, three and four runs in his other three games, leading to a 10.57 ERA in 7 2/3 innings.  He struck out eight but issued five walks and surrendered three home runs.

According to FanGraphs, Chavez throws a fastball around 93-94 MPH with a slider around 87 MPH.  He relied less on a changeup around 85 MPH with the Royals this year as compared to his time with the Pirates and Braves.    He also threw the odd curve this season around 75 MPH. 

Chavez will be expected to compete for a job in the Jays bullpen in 2012 or at the very least, add depth at the Triple-A level in Las Vegas.  The Jays also announced outfielder Dewayne Wise, infielder Chris Woodward and lefty Rommie Lewis have filed for free agency.

Jesse Chavez Joins The Jays Nest | 11 comments | Create New Account
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.
ayjackson - Saturday, October 22 2011 @ 06:40 PM EDT (#245955) #
Brett Lawrie@blawrie13Brett Lawrie @RickyRo24 u do ur cuff today ? Need that wing in shape #neeja Yikes!
ayjackson - Saturday, October 22 2011 @ 06:41 PM EDT (#245956) #
The `Yikes`was from me.
TamRa - Saturday, October 22 2011 @ 08:51 PM EDT (#245957) #
the trades he's been in, you'd think he might be something....and his minor league ratios look good.

but his major league numbers are "ugh"

Can't say i'm excited.
sam - Saturday, October 22 2011 @ 10:15 PM EDT (#245960) #
Oh god if Romero has hurt his rotator cuff we're done for. I also fear for his long term career. Pitchers seem to very rarely come back 100% from that injury.
Flex - Sunday, October 23 2011 @ 10:51 AM EDT (#245966) #
That is a troubling tweet from Lawrie, and Romero hasn't specifically responded. However there is a pic in Romero's feed of him apparently playing with his iPhone. Seems to be taken that same day, and he has a big smile on his face:

http://twitter.com/#!/SandyR009/status/127619179930062848/photo/1/large


So I don't think it's anything really to worry about yet. Unless he got mad and whipped the iPhone at the wall immediately after the picture was taken and hurt his "cuff".
BlueJayWay - Sunday, October 23 2011 @ 11:19 AM EDT (#245967) #
It's hard to know what "u do your cuff today?" actually means.  It sounds like, did you do your exercises for your rotator cuff.  Could it be just some regular off season maintenance?  Haven't heard anything at all about any kind of injury.  Is there more to this that anyone knows?  Or are we freaking out for no reason.
Thomas - Sunday, October 23 2011 @ 01:38 PM EDT (#245972) #
Jesse Chavez is one of my favourite players to reference as the fungible 11th option for a team's 7-man bullpen. I see no reason for that to change.
Krylian19 - Sunday, October 23 2011 @ 01:56 PM EDT (#245974) #
Maybe doing his cuff has something to do with going to a tailor..... ;)
Chuck - Sunday, October 23 2011 @ 04:41 PM EDT (#245979) #
Ricky, I hope you are you enjoying the cuff links that I sent to you. I know you like to look your best when you go to church on Sundays and I know that sharp looking cuffs are especially important to you. I hope I was able to help you take care of those cuffs. Look forward to seeing you in the spring. Brett.
bpoz - Monday, October 24 2011 @ 08:52 AM EDT (#245999) #
Priceless Chuck!!
Jays4Life - Monday, November 07 2011 @ 06:40 PM EST (#246497) #
Chavez should be a promising addition to the Jays.  I always dislike this time of year now that baseball is over with.  I've already started planning my trips to Toronto to catch a few games next year though!  Does anybody know where to get good pizza in Toronto?  I did this search for Toronto pizza and am wondering if any of you can recommend any places that come up?  I always make my trips to the games a full day event and am looking for some good places to eat.
Jesse Chavez Joins The Jays Nest | 11 comments | Create New Account
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.