He’s done it, folks. We made it all the way to March 31st for Jesse Chavez, who began spring training as a pitcher for the Texas Rangers, to be back on the Atlanta Braves’ Major League roster.

This has been one of my favorite sub-plots in sports over the last five years. Chavez goes to any team other than the Braves, sucks, gets released, signs back with the Braves and puts up a 2.75 ERA before we do the whole song and dance again the next year. Chavez has pitched in 158 games for the Braves since 2021 and has also been on the Angels (multiple times), Cubs, White Sox and Rangers in that same time frame. That shouldn’t even be possible, but people and baseball clubs who are meant to be together will always find their way back. They may take a few detours, but they’re never lost.

And the Braves actually need 41-year-old Chavez to be the guy he’s been the past several seasons, because the early returns on Atlanta’s bullpen are less than stellar. The 0-4 start had me a little down, but I’m now as excited as can be to watch Jesse go out there against the Dodgers tonight and lob 89 MPH fastballs over the plate as Freddie Freeman and Shohei Ohtani inexplicably whiff like they’re facing prime Nolan Ryan.

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