Cubs acquire RHP Jesse Chavez from the Texas Rangers for minor league left-hander Tyler Thomas
The Cubs added to the bullpen on Thursday by acquiring RHP Jesse Chavez from the Rangers for minor league lefty Tyler Thomas.
With the addition of Chavez, the Cubs 40-man now stands at 39 players.
Jesse Chavez, 34, is 3-1 with three holds, one save and a 3.51 ERA (22 earned runs in 56 1/3 innings) in 30 relief appearances with Texas this season. He has walked only 12 while striking out 50 in 56 1/3 innings, an average of only 1.9 walks per nine innings. Chavez has pitched more than an inning in 18 of his 30 appearances this year, including two or more innings in exactly half of his outings. Chavez is 2-1 with one save and a 2.35 ERA (10 earned runs in 38 1/3 innings) in his last 21 appearances starting May 4.
Chavez has spent all or part of 11 seasons in the majors with seven different clubs, going 36-52 with three saves and a 4.61 ERA (409 earned runs in 799 innings) in 383 appearances, including 70 starts, with Pittsburgh (2008-09), Atlanta (2010), Kansas City (2010-11), Toronto (2012, 2016), Oakland (2012-15), the Dodgers (2016), the Angels (2017) and the Rangers (2018).
Chavez has pitched exclusively in relief this year after making 21 starts (out of 38 total appearances) with the Angels last year. He pitched solely in relief for the Blue Jays and Dodgers in 2016, combining to make 62 outings.
Tyler Thomas, 22, was selected by the Cubs in the seventh round of the 2017 Draft out of Fresno State. He has gone 3-5 with one save and a 2.88 ERA (24 earned runs in 75 innings) in 15 appearances, all but one as a starter, this year for Low-A South Bend.
