In an effort to bolster a rotation with some significant question marks the Toronto Blue Jays acquired Jesse Chavez from the Oakland Athletics on Friday night in exchange for Liam Hendriks.
Chavez has played for five different organizations over his eight-year career before finding success as a late bloomer with the Athletics.
Here’s the skinny on the newest Blue Jay:
Age: 32
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Height: 6-foot-2
Weight: 160
Fastball Velocity: 91.2 mph
This will be Chavez’s second stint in Toronto
If you remember Chavez’s time with the Blue Jays in 2012, it’s not a fond memory. The right-hander allowed 20 earned runs in 21.1 innings with the club before he was traded to Oakland for cash considerations.
Combining his rough tenure with the Blue Jays and the struggles he’s had facing them, Chavez has an 0-2 record and 8.76 ERA in his career at Rogers Centre, allowing a .352/.379/.503 from opposing batters in a small sample of 12.1 innings.
Chavez transformed himself during his time in Oakland
When Chavez was shipped to Oakland he began to build his repertoire around his cutter. The pitch never appeared before 2012 and he’s used it at least 24 per cent of the time in every year since.
He also leaned on his slow curveball more often than before, scrapping a slider that had been an ineffective out pitch at the big-league level. By diversifying and improving his arsenal, Chavez was able to shed the label of journeyman and become a mid-rotation asset for the Athletics.
The Chavez who will arrive at Spring Training in 2016 isn’t the same guy who left town in 2012.
Chavez is a short-term acquisition
With five years of MLB service time, Chavez is currently arbitration-eligible for the last time and will be a free agent following the 2016 season. To get him, the Blue Jays relinquished a pitcher in Hendriks who wouldn’t have hit the open market until 2020, indicating the team is prioritizing a 2016 run.
This isn’t a rental in the traditional sense, but it is a win-now play.
What’s a reasonable expectation for Chavez?
Realistically speaking, Chavez is an option for the back end of the Blue Jays’ rotation, but he’s a solid one. He’s not an overpowering arm, but he’s a good bet for 150 innings where he keeps his team in ball games. If he’s used exclusively as a starter that number could look conservative.
Moving to Rogers Centre could be a tricky transition for Chavez who’s more of a fly-ball pitcher, but Marco Estrada showed last year that kind of profile isn’t a death sentence in Toronto. The average of his last two seasons when starting is a 3.95 ERA and 3.82 FIP, which wouldn’t be the worst place to start in terms of setting expectations.
