PHILADELPHIA — Since the middle of June, Jesse Chavez has rested and rehabbed as he tries to get his left leg back to full strength. It took longer than he might have hoped, but Tuesday represents a nice step.
Chavez on Tuesday began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Gwinnett. There’s no guarantee that he makes it back to pitch for the Braves, but at the very least, it’s encouraging that Chavez will see game action about three months after he sustained a microfracture in his left shin.
In his first rehab outing, Chavez tossed a scoreless inning for the Stripers, who are playing in Jacksonville this week. Chavez allowed two hits and issued one walk. He struck out one batter.
“We’ll see how it goes today and what it looks like tomorrow,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said when asked if Chavez will have enough time to make it back to pitch for the Braves again this season.
The Braves also transferred infielder Ehire Adrianza’s rehab assignment – he sustained a left shoulder strain a while back – from High-A Rome to Gwinnett.
And on Tuesday evening, Atlanta put Dylan Lee on the 15-day injured list with left shoulder inflammation. The club shut down the left-handed reliever for the remainder of the season.
A couple hours before the Braves and Phillies played on Tuesday, Snitker was asked about having Chavez, Lee and Nick Anderson as depth. It seemed as if it might be a good problem.
“It is, but I don’t know that they’re realistic depth,” Snitker said. “They’ve got a long way to go to be realistic depth, I think, probably.”
An hour and change after Snitker said this, the Braves announced the Lee news. Perhaps his comments also mean he’s not optimistic that Chavez and Anderson will help the Braves again this season. The two have been out for months.
Then again, Snitker has enough to worry about concerning the guys who are currently in the clubhouse. It makes sense that he wouldn’t be thinking long and hard about injured players.
In Detroit in June, Chavez was struck in the left shin by a 100 mph comebacker from Miguel Cabrera. Chavez had a massive bruise that covered the microfracture. The Braves didn’t discover the microfracture until the swelling went down.
“Me healing as fast as I normally heal and not ever being hurt because I heal fast, it’s kind of one of those things where it’s just like, ‘Why is it taking so long for a bruise, if that’s the case?’” Chavez said Aug. 21.
Before the injury, Chavez had posted a 1.55 ERA over 29 innings, with 36 strikeouts. He’s not a closer or even a late-inning reliever, but those numbers warranted serious All-Star consideration.
Then came the microfracture.
Chavez has worked hard over the past few months. It often seemed as if his timeline for himself was more optimistic than the club’s view. This probably isn’t out of the ordinary: Chavez is a competitor, and the Braves’ medical staff is there to look out for him.
As his rehab progressed, Chavez struggled to put weight on his left leg. Eventually, he threw live batting practice, but still couldn’t run well enough to field his position.
This is why Tuesday was a positive sign. Chavez will begin a rehab assignment. Gwinnett’s season ends Sept. 24, and unless he looks terrific, the Braves might not be able to guarantee Chavez a spot on their postseason roster. Their bullpen is deep, and they’re probably going to need to make some difficult decisions when the time comes.
But he’s back to pitching in games, which is encouraging enough for now. Whether it means he’s on track to return to the mound for the Braves this season is unknown.
