Former Ranger joins Ron Washington on SF Giants manager Tony Vitello's coaching staff

Giants to hire former Rangers reliever Jesse Chavez as bullpen coach under new manager Tony Vitello

The San Francisco Giants are hiring former Texas Rangers righty reliever Jesse Chavez as their bullpen coach under new manager Tony Vitello, newly-signed Giants reliever Sam Hentes told reporters. Chavez joins Ron Washington, the Giants' new infield coach, on San Francisco's new coaching staff.

Chavez, 42, announced his retirement in July after being waived by the Atlanta Braves. He made four MLB appearances this year, allowing eight runs in eight innings with Atlanta.

In 18 MLB seasons, Chavez had a 4.27 ERA with 1044 strikeouts and 363 walks over 1,142 innings. He played for nine teams (Rangers, Braves, Oakland Athletics, Pittsburgh Pirates, Los Angeles Angels, Toronto Blue Jays, Chicago Cubs, Kansas City Royals and Los Angeles Dodgers).

Chavez first joined the Rangers when he signed with the team in Feb. 2018. He had a 3.51 ERA in 56 1/3 innings with Texas before being dealt to the Cubs for lefty pitcher Tyler Thomas. Chavez had a 1.15 ERA in 39 innings with the Cubs to finish the 2018 campaign.

Chavez then became a free agent following the 2018 season and signed with the Rangers again, this time on a two-year contract. The deal didn't go well, as Chavez had a 4.85 ERA over 78 innings in 2019 and an awful 6.88 ERA in 17 innings in 2020. He redeemed himself with the Braves the following season, sporting a 2.14 ERA in 33 2/3 regular-season innings and helping Atlanta win the World Series.

The Rangers brought Chavez back for a third stint with the club, signing him to a minor league contract with an invitation to Major League Spring Training this past January. The Rangers released him in March, then he signed with the Braves.

Chavez replaces Garvin Alston, who held the Giants' bullpen coach role for the past two seasons. San Francisco had one of the best bullpens in baseball last season before trading Camilo Doval and Tyler Rogers and Randy Rodríguez underwent Tommy John surgery. Chavez will have a tough task at hand in attempting to help the bullpen return to being one of the best in the league.