Former Dodgers Pitcher Announces Sudden Retirement Amid 18th MLB Season

One week after he was designated for assignment by the Atlanta Braves for the third time this season, pitcher Jesse Chavez announced his retirement Thursday.

Chavez, a San Gabriel native who made 23 appearances for the Dodgers in 2016, made the announcement Thursday on the Foul Territory podcast.

BREAKING: Jesse Chavez announces his retirement from Major League Baseball.

Congratulations on a great career, Jesse! pic.twitter.com/oobZUtUs2W
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) July 24, 2025

"I think this is it, time to turn the page," he said. "Focus on the next chapter in life and go help all the young kids, all the stuff that I did, so they don't have to take two steps backward to take those three steps forward."

Chavez made four appearances in his multiple stints with the Braves this season. He allowed eight runs in eight innings.

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The Dodgers acquired Chavez at the 2016 trade deadline from the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for right-handed pitcher Mike Bolsinger. He made 23 appearances over the final two months of the regular season, going 1-0 with a 4.21 ERA.

That wasn't enough for Chavez to earn a place on the Dodgers' roster for the 2016 National League Division Series or NLCS, which they lost to the Chicago Cubs.

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Chavez retires with a career record of 51-66, a 4.27 ERA, and nine saves. He debuted at age 24 with the Pirates and spent his first two major league seasons in Pittsburgh.

In November 2009, Chavez was traded from the Pirates to the Tampa Bay Rays. He was traded by the Rays to the Braves a month later.

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The Braves would become Chavez's employer on several occasions over the next 16 seasons. He signed with Atlanta as a free agent six different times, and won a World Series with the Braves in 2021.

"This has been a great ride — way more than I expected to, from a 42nd-round draft pick," Chavez said. "The thing was, I was given a gift early on. I understood it, but it was how am I going to make it last? How can I keep it going for this long? I always said I want to go out the way I came in: being able to roll out of bed and throw a baseball."

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Besides the Dodgers, Braves and Pirates, Chavez pitched for the Kansas City Royals (2010-11), Toronto Blue Jays (2012), Oakland A's (2012-15), Los Angeles Angels (2017, 2022), Texas Rangers (2018-20), and Chicago Cubs (2018, 2022).

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