TEMPE, Ariz. — The Angels have signed veteran right-hander Jesse Chavez to a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training.
If Chavez makes the team, the 37-year-old would be on his second stint with the Angels, after posting a 5.35 ERA in 2017. Chavez spent the past two seasons with the Texas Rangers, pitching to a 6.88 ERA in 17 innings out of the bullpen last season.
Chavez pitched for Joe Maddon with the Chicago Cubs after they acquired him in a trade in the middle of 2018. He posted a 1.15 ERA in 39 innings out of the bullpen.
Chavez gives the Angels another option to pitch multiple innings out of the bullpen, along with Felix Peña, Jaime Barria, Junior Guerra, Aaron Slegers and Dillon Peters.
LET THE GAMES BEGIN
The Angels open the Cactus League schedule on Sunday with a game against the San Francisco Giants in Scottsdale. The Angels haven’t yet announced the pitchers. Maddon said there will be some major leaguers playing in that game, but most of the “varsity” will wait to play until the first home game, the next day.
The exhibition games this year will also include a few different rules.
Through Mar. 13, games will be scheduled for either five or seven innings, based on agreement of the two teams. After that, the games will be seven or nine innings.
Managers are also allowed to end an inning before the third out if the pitcher has thrown at least 20 pitches, which is a common practice in minor league exhibitions and B games.
That rule also makes it easier later in the spring for starting pitchers to be certain they can pitch deep enough into the game to get their pitch-count to the necessary level. In the past, teams often had their starters work in minor league games at the end of the spring so they could manipulate the work that way.
Maddon said there may still be reason to have pitchers work in minor league games if they can avoid seeing a divisional opponent.
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Guerra and Jose Quijada remain the only two players still not in camp. They both had visa issues that delayed their travel to the United States…
Franklin Barreto, who had shoulder surgery that ended his season last September, is fully cleared for workouts.
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