Nine teams in 11 years? Jesse Chavez's life as a baseball journeyman

ST. LOUIS -- At least he didn't have to change his clocks this time.

Unlike the cross-country trips Jesse Chavez has twice had to endure during midseason trades, the reliever remained in the Central time zone when he was dealt from theTexas Rangers to the Chicago Cubsin mid-July.

As he finds his way with his ninth team in an 11-year career, it's safe to say Chavez has this middle-of-the-summer move down -- but that doesn't mean it's easy. After all, there are the essentials to be packed up at a moment's notice.

"I would say the Xbox and PlayStation," Chavez said with a laugh one recent morning when asked about must-have items for any move. "Good for me and the kids. Mainly me."

Chavez and his wife, Crystal, have three kids and the family has learned what to expect by now.

"Pack a bag, tell your wife we're on to another city, get the kids ready and enjoy it," Chavez said. "You have to embrace it."

And that's exactly what Chavez is doing in Chicago so far. Outside of one recent hiccup against the San Diego Padres, he has been lights out in a Cubs uniform in posting a 1.86 ERA and 0.72 WHIP so far.

He has had plenty of experience learning how to hit the ground running when he has moved, so what's the most important thing to know when the call comes?

"If you can believe it, what kind of clothes you have to wear to the field," Chavez said. "What the dress code is like. I keep it simple. I wear the same thing that I did with the previous team."

When informed that Joe Maddon doesn't have a dress code, Chavez didn't exactly relax.

"I still can't bring myself to be that comfortable," he said with a smile. "It'll take some time to get used to."

While Chavez settles into his new surroundings during his first few weeks with the Cubs, one past trade remains in his mind as a key stop for creating his major league path.

In 2010, the Atlanta Braves sent him to theKansas City Royals, stunning the then 26-year-old, but fortunately, the experience on a veteran team prepared him as best it could.

"With that group, numerous Hall of Famers, my ears were open and my eyes were wide," Chavez said. "That team, when I left there, benefited me the most. They had a lot to do with keeping me in line."

Cubs right fielder Jason Heyward was a rookie on that Atlanta team, which also featured Troy Glaus, Brian McCann, Chipper Jones, Tim Hudson, Derek Lowe and Billy Wagner.

"Each trade has its own meaning," Chavez said. "That one was kind of devastating but those guys helped me prepare."

Speaking of old teammates, by now, at least Chavez is likely to know someone when he's on the move. He scanned the Cubs' clubhouse as he reminisced.

"I played with Heyward. Also, Brandon Morrow in Toronto. Addison Russell was in the minors with Oakland when I was there. Let's see, who else? Oh, Mike Montgomery in Kansas City. There's about four in every clubhouse."

Pretty soon, people will be able to play six degrees of separation with Chavez, who has been coast to coast, in each league and now in the Midwest. Twice he has been traded from Toronto to the West Coast, to Oakland in 2012 and then to the Dodgers in 2016. So what's the toughest part of a midseason move?

"Just making sure the family is accommodated," Chavez said with a look of remembering something else. "Oh, and getting used to being without a car. Some places you need it, some you don't. I had a car in Dallas. Now I can jump in a car or Uber in Chicago."

He rates one of the trades from Toronto as the toughest, logistically. His kids were younger and they weren't in the same vicinity when it happened.

"Wife and kids were at Niagara Falls and we had to pack up the apartment in Toronto," Chavez said. "It wasn't easy."

This time around, Chavez got the call after landing in Dallas after a road trip. He, his wife and kids packed up and came to Chicago a day later all together.

"We're still adjusting, especially to the day games," Chavez said.

Potentially complicating matters is Crystal Chavez's job. She's a longshoreman out of Long Beach, California. Once a month, for just a day, she puts in her hours.

"Finding a babysitter when she has to go to work is a big challenge," Chavez said. "Her job is interesting. Scary. Very dangerous."

If it sounds like an interesting life, it is. And Chavez has no plans on retiring at age 34. He and his wife get help from family when their life is uprooted, and of course from the new team's traveling secretary.

"Those guys are key," Chavez said. "They take care of a million little things."

First and foremost is setting up hotel accommodations in the new city. The team pays for the first week, then it's up to the player where he wants to go.

"We just stay at the hotel," Chavez said nonchalantly. "Don't want to bother with a lease or anything like that each time."

In the end, there's one thing that keeps Chavez going. After 11 years and eight teams before joining the Cubs, he's still without a ring.

"You talk about the bucket list," he said. "You can keep it on five fingers. Get to your big leagues, get to arbitration, get to free agency, get to 10 years in the league. The ring is the elusive one."