Even though the Oakland Athletics have told the press numerous times that they will not be very active trade-wise during the offseason, there are still a few players who could be on the chopping block. One of those is long reliever turned starting pitcher Jesse Chavez, whose versatility makes him a valuable asset. Even though he is not a free agent until after the 2016 season, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reported that there was a handful of scouts at Chavez’ most recent start on Saturday.
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Jesse Chavez has been with the Oakland Athletics organization since 2012 and has worked his way up from long reliever to starting pitcher. Even though he has been struggling this year, his ability to be a starting and relief pitcher is highly desired by many teams. Additionally, he has a healthy track record and, even on his bad days, it is more a problem with his mechanics than with his strength. Finally, Chavez is cheap and has only cost the A’s $2.15 million this season.
Although he becomes less effective as a starting pitcher as the season drags off, he would be a great fill-in starter while a more established starting pitcher recovers from an injury or gets a day of rest. Chavez was pitching extremely well for the first full month as a starter with the A’s this season and had a 1.93 ERA over 42 innings pitched. However, because of his slight frame and his lack of experience as a full season starter, he does not have the stamina to maintain a starting pitcher’s workload throughout an entire season.
But, as a relief pitcher, Chavez is solid. In this first four relief outings with the Athletics this season, he did not allow a single run. Additionally, back in 2013 when he was strictly a relief pitcher, he had a 3.92 ERA with 55 strikeouts over 57.1 innings pitched. What is great about Chavez is that he can come in for only one out or for multiple innings, which is highly coveted these days.
It is unlikely that Chavez will earn a spot in the Oakland Athletics’ rotation next year with all of the young starting pitching talent the A’s have acquired. So, it would make sense to trade Chavez since Oakland has Drew Pomeranz who can also be a long reliever or starter. Back at the trade deadline this season, the Los Angeles Dodgers were rumored to be interested in Chavez and it seems as though he is still drawing interest from a few teams around the MLB. The A’s could easily make a trade for a minor league prospect since they are currently trying to build up their farm system for the future.
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