Cubs sign righthanded reliever Jesse Chavez

The Cubs picked up Jesse Chavez in July 2018 for minor leaguer Tyler Thomas. And Chavez pitched exceptionally well for the Cubs for two-plus months: 1.15 ERA, 0.795 WHIP in 32 relief appearances. That was worth 2.0 bWAR — an excellent figure for only a couple of months.

And now, he’s going to be a Cub again:

We don’t have any dollar figure attached to this signing yet.

Since leaving the Cubs after 2018, Chavez had a couple of mediocre years with the Rangers, but then pitched very well for the World Series champion Braves in 2021: 2.15 ERA, 1.010 WHIP in 30 appearances (four starts — he won’t be making starts for the Cubs, I wouldn’t think).

Chavez is 38 now and this very likely is his last year in the major leagues. After the Cubs lost the Wild Card game in 2018, Chavez told reporters he wanted to stay in Chicago:

Obviously he wasn’t done after 2018, and if he can pitch even as well as he did in 2021 in Atlanta, the Cubs will have a decent righthanded option in the pen, someone who could probably throw multiple innings if needed.

This signing would put the Cubs one player over the 40-man limit, in conjunction with the signing of Andrelton Simmons. Neither signing has been officially announced by the team yet. One player will have to be removed from the 40-man when they are.

As always, we await developments.