Of course they did. Chavez elected free agency after being designated for assignment, but the 41-year-old can’t quit Atlanta, and Atlanta can’t quit him.

The 41-year-old right-hander was designated for assignment by the Braves on Tuesday but decided to look for work elsewhere instead of accepting an outright assignment to Triple-A Gwinnett. With so many teams constantly searching for quality bullpen depth, don’t expect Chavez to be out of a job for long.

Chavez threw 41 pitches while allowing one run in two innings last night, so he’s being banished one day after getting called up. One imagines he’ll stick around if he clears waivers and probably get another chance before long.

And thus begins Chavez’s sixth stint with the Braves. It’s like they chose not to re-sign him in the offseason just to add to the stat. Chavez had a 3.13 ERA in 63 1/3 innings for Atlanta last year. The 41-year-old failed to make the Rangers out of spring training, but he’s back in the majors less than a week into the season anyway. Héctor Neris was cut to make room.