Yadier_Álvarez

Yadier Álvarez

Yadier Álvarez

Baseball player

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Álvarez and the second or maternal family name is Ventosa.

Yadier Álvarez Ventosa (born March 7, 1996) is a Cuban professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent.

Quick Facts Free agent ...

Career

Álvarez defected from Cuba to pursue a career in Major League Baseball (MLB).[1][2] At the time, he had a fastball that touched 98 miles per hour. Scouts believed he had number two starter upside and one National League official said that he was the best 18-year-old pitcher he had ever seen.[3] He received interest from numerous MLB teams including the Philadelphia Phillies, Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks.[4][5]

Ranked as the second best prospect by mlb.com heading into the 2015 international signing period, Álvarez signed with the Dodgers on July 2, 2015, for a $16 million bonus.[6][7] He made his professional baseball debut for the Dodgers Arizona rookie league affiliate on June 20, 2016, and struck out seven while only allowing one hit in 3+2⁄3 innings pitched.[8] In five starts for the team, he was 1–1 with a 1.80 ERA and 57 strikeouts.[9] He was promoted to the Great Lakes Loons of the Midwest League and struck out 10 in his debut for the Loons on July 21, 2016.[10] He made nine starts for the Loons with a 2.97 ERA and 55 strikeouts in only 39+1⁄3 innings.[11] In 2017, he was promoted to the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes of the California League and chosen to represent the world team at the All-Star Futures Game.[12]

Álvarez began 2017 with the Quakes and was promoted to the Double-A Tulsa Drillers at mid-season. Between the two leagues he made 18 starts (and three relief appearances) and was 4–6 with a 4.68 ERA.[13] He returned to Tulsa in 2018 and was selected to represent the Drillers at the mid-season Texas League All-Star Game.[14] In 17 games (eight starts), he went 1–2 with a 4.66 ERA.[15]

The Dodgers added Álvarez to their 40-man roster after the 2018 season.[16] He returned to Tulsa to begin 2019, but he only appeared in two games, allowing six runs in 3+2⁄3 innings.[13] He spent the rest of the season on the minor league injured list before the Dodgers placed him on the restricted list for disciplinary reasons.[17] Álvarez reported for spring training in 2020 with a chance to work his way back into the Dodgers plans but was scratched from his first spring appearance due to health issues and was designated for assignment the next day.[18] He did not pitch again until late in the 2021 season, when he pitched 3+2⁄3 innings over three games on a rehab assignment in the Arizona Complex League. He allowed three runs to score on three hits and a walk while striking out seven.[13] In 2022, he played for the Oklahoma City Dodgers in AAA, appearing in 23 games and allowing 17 earned runs in 24+2⁄3 innings for a 6.20 ERA.[13] He elected free agency on November 10, 2022.

References

  1. [1]
    McDaniel, Kiley (February 13, 2015). "Yadier Alvarez Emerges While Other Cubans Move Closer to Deals". Fangraphs. Retrieved July 2, 2015.
  2. [2]
    Townsend, Mark (February 15, 2015). "Meet Yadier Alvarez, baseball's next coveted Cuban prospect". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved July 2, 2015.
  3. [3]
    Sanchez, Jesse (February 17, 2015). "Acclaimed Cuban free agents highly sought-after". mlb.com. Retrieved July 2, 2015.
  4. [4]
    Wolf, Paula (February 13, 2015). "New rumor has Phils interested in Cuban pitching phenom". Lancaster Online. Retrieved July 2, 2015.
  5. [5]
    Gill, Mike (February 13, 2015). "Phillies Interested in Cuban Pitcher Yadier Alvarez". 97.3 ESPN South Jersey. Retrieved July 2, 2015.
  6. [6]
    Sanchez, Jesse (July 2, 2015). "Dodgers open int'l signing period with a flurry". mlb.com. Retrieved July 2, 2015.
  7. [7]
    Stephen, Eric (July 2, 2015). "Starling Heredia, Yadier Alvarez, Ronny Brito highlight Day 1 of Dodgers international signing period". SB Nation. Retrieved July 2, 2015.
  8. [8]
    Minami, Craig (June 21, 2016). "Yadier Alvarez strikes out 7 in debut, Arizona Dodgers take opener 8-7". SB Nation. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
  9. [9]
    "2016 AZL Dodgers Statistics". Baseball Reference. Retrieved August 7, 2016.
  10. [10]
    Bernreuter, Hugh (July 21, 2016). "Dodgers' prize prospect Yadier Alvarez dominates in Loons' debut". Mlive.com. Retrieved August 7, 2016.
  11. [11]
    "2016 Great Lakes Loons Statistics". Baseball Reference.
  12. [12]
    BA Staff (June 29, 2017). "2017 World Futures Game Rosters And Scouting Reports". Baseball America. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
  13. [13]
    "Yadier Alvarez Minor League Statistics & History". Baseball Reference.
  14. [14]
    Lewis, Barry (June 13, 2018). "Five Drillers selected for Texas League All-Star Game". Tulsa World. Retrieved June 17, 2018.
  15. [15]
    "Yadier Alvarez Stats, Highlights, Bio - MiLB.com Stats - The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". MiLB.com. Retrieved January 1, 2019.
  16. [16]
    Gurnick, Ken (November 20, 2018). "Prospect Ruiz among 5 added to 40-man roster". mlb.com. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
  17. [17]
    Trent Dorfman, Jack (September 4, 2019). "Dodgers: Yadier Alvarez has to be out of chances with LA". Dodgersway.com. Retrieved September 6, 2019.
  18. [18]
    Miller, George (February 29, 2020). "Dodgers Designate Yadier Alvarez For Assignment". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Yadier_Álvarez, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.