Aaron Steven Laffey (born April 15, 1985) is an American former professional

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. He made his

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(MLB) debut with the

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in 2007 and also played in MLB with the

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Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

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, and

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

Professional career

Cleveland Indians

Laffey had been committed to

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before signing with the Cleveland Indians out of high school. In Laffey's first pro season in 2003, he was with the Burlington Indians of the Rookie level and went 3–1 in 9 games (4 starts) while

striking out ''Striking Out'' is an Irish television legal drama series, broadcast on RTÉ, that first aired on 1 January 2017. Produced by Bl!nder F!lms for RTÉ Television, ''Striking Out'' stars Amy Huberman as Dublin-based solicitor Tara Rafferty, who is ...

46 in 34 innings pitched. In 2004, while with the Single-A

Mahoning Valley Scrappers The Mahoning Valley Scrappers are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Niles, Ohio, a city in the valley of the Mahoning River, and play their home games at Eastwood Field. From 1999 to 2020, they were a M ...

, Laffey went 3–1 with a 1.24

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in 8 starts which earned him a promotion to the Single-A

Lake County Captains The Lake County Captains are a Minor League Baseball team in Eastlake, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, that plays in the Midwest League as the High-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. The Captains joined the Class A Midwest League following t ...

3–7 with a 6.53 ERA in 19 games. He started the 2005 season with Lake County and went 7–7 with a 3.22 ERA in 142.1 innings pitched and was called up to the Double-A

Akron Aeros The Akron RubberDucks are a Minor League Baseball team based in Akron, Ohio. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They play in Canal Park, located in downtown Akron, which seats 7,630 ...

for one game in which he picked up the

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by going 5 innings and allowed 2 runs while striking out 6. Laffey started the 2006 year with the Singel-A Advanced

Kinston Indians The Kinston Indians were a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League (CL) located in Kinston, North Carolina, from 1978 to 2011. They played their home games at Grainger Stadium, which opened in 1949. The team began play in 1978 as the Ki ...

which he was 4–1 with a 2.18 ERA in 10 games (4 starts). His performance earned him a promotion to Double-A Akron where he went 8–3 with a 3.53 ERA in 19 games, all starts. In 2007, he pitched 6 games with Akron going 4–1 with a 2.31 ERA in 6 starts. He was promoted to the Triple-A

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...

and went 7–3 with a 3.28 ERA before his call up to the majors. Aaron Laffey 02A

On August 4, 2007, Laffey made his MLB debut against the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

; he went 5.1 innings allowing 6

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, 3 runs, 1

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, and 3 strikeouts while losing the game. In his second start on August 9, against the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

, Laffey picked up his first MLB victory. He went innings allowed 6 hits, 4 runs, 3 walks, and struck out 4 in the Indians 7–5 victory. On August 10, a day after Laffey's first MLB victory, he was demoted to Triple-A Buffalo. On August 25, Laffey was recalled to pitch against the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

. Laffey won again, going 6 innings, allowing 8 hits, only 2 runs, walked only 1, and struck out 4. Laffey went into

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

in 2008, competing for the fifth spot in the rotation, however

Cliff Lee Clifton Phifer Lee (born August 30, 1978) is an American former professional baseball starting pitcher who played for 13 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Between 2002 and 2014 he played for four teams, most notably the Philadelphia Philli ...

won the job and Laffey was sent back to Buffalo, but was brought back up following an injury to

Jake Westbrook Jacob Cauthen Westbrook (born September 29, 1977) is an American former professional baseball pitcher in Major League Baseball. He was known as a sinker ball pitcher and hit a grand slam as a batter.Harris, J. GeralJake Westbrook: sinkerball pitc ...

. Laffey was named

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Rookie of the Month for the month of May. Laffey had a 3–2 record and an 0.79 ERA for the month. Opponents batted .220 against him in May over a 34 inning span.

Seattle Mariners

On March 2, 2011, Laffey was traded to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for prospect Matt Lawson. He was designated for assignment on August 17, after recording a 4.01 ERA in innings, spanning 36 appearances.

New York Yankees

Laffey was claimed off waivers by the

on August 19, 2011. Laffey made his debut the next night against the

. He was designated for assignment the next day to clear a roster spot for

Alex Rodriguez Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez (born July 27, 1975), nicknamed "A-Rod", is an American former professional baseball shortstop and third baseman, businessman and philanthropist. Rodriguez played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the ...

, though he was placed on optional waivers. Laffey cleared waivers and was sent to

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (often abbreviated to SWB RailRiders) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They are located in Moosic, Pen ...

. He was called back up to the majors when the rosters expanded in September, and pitched regularly as a reliever through the final weeks of the season, compiling a 2–1 record for the Yankees.

Kansas City Royals

Laffey was claimed off waivers by the

on October 11, 2011. He was non-tendered by the Royals on December 12, 2011.

Toronto Blue Jays

On December 30, 2011, Laffey signed a split contract with the

. After failing to make the team out of spring training, Laffey had his contract purchased by Toronto on April 8, 2012. However, Laffey was sent back down to the Triple-A Las Vegas 51s on April 14 without having pitched for the Jays. After pitching for six weeks in Las Vegas (compiling a 2–5 record, and a 4.88 ERA in 9 starts) Laffey was again called up to the majors on May 28, but was again sent back down just three days later without having thrown a pitch for the Blue Jays. Laffey made two more starts for Las Vegas (in which he went 1–0) before being called up to the Jays for the third time on June 11. He finally pitched his first game as a Blue Jay on June 13, giving up 2 runs in three innings of relief work against the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

. On October 4, 2012, Laffey was outrighted to the Blue Jays Triple-A affiliate

New York Mets

On December 27, 2012, he signed a minor league contract with the

, that included an invitation to Major League spring training. Laffey made his first start for the Mets on April 7 going four and a third innings giving up three

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, striking out five, and walking one in a 4–3 victory over the

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The franc ...

. Laffey received a no-decision for the game. Laffey was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must within seven days, return the pla ...

on April 21, 2013. He had pitched four games for the Mets, earning no decisions and finishing with a 7.20 ERA.

Return to the Toronto Blue Jays

On April 23, 2013, the Blue Jays announced that they had claimed Laffey on waivers. He made his first start for the 2013 Blue Jays on April 26 against the New York Yankees, filling in for Josh Johnson, who was scratched due to a sore right triceps. Laffey pitched innings, giving up 2 earned runs on 2 hits and walking 5 batters. He was designated for assignment following the game. The Blue Jays announced on April 29 that Laffey had refused an assignment to the

, and had become a free agent.

Los Angeles Dodgers

On April 30, 2013, Laffey signed a minor league contract with the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

. He was assigned to the Triple-A

Albuquerque Isotopes The Albuquerque Isotopes are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. They play home games at Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at an el ...

on May 2. In 11 starts for the Isotopes, he was 4–3 with a 5.61 ERA. He was released on July 1, 2013.

Milwaukee Brewers

He signed a minor league contract with the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

on July 11, 2013.

Baltimore Orioles

On January 23, 2014, he signed a minor league contract with the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

. He was released on March 24.

Washington Nationals

Laffey signed a minor league contract with Washington Nationals on March 30, 2014, and spent the entire season with the Class AAA

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, compiling a 12–6 record.

Colorado Rockies

Laffey signed a minor league deal with the

on November 22, 2014. He was promoted to the major leagues in 2015, and was designated for assignment on July 11, 2015.

Later career

On April 3, 2017, Laffey signed with the

Somerset Patriots The Somerset Patriots are an American Minor League Baseball team based in Bridgewater Township, New Jersey, that is the Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They compete in the Eastern League, known as the Double-A Northeast in 2021, and ...

of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league based in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States. The Atlantic League's ...

. On May 15, 2017, Laffey signed a minor league contract with the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The f ...

. He elected free agency on November 6, 2017. On February 21, 2018, Laffey signed with the

Acereros de Monclova The Acereros de Monclova (English: Monclova Steelers) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Monclova, Coahuila, Mexico. Their home ballpark is Estadio de Béisbol Monclova, which has a capacity of 11,000 people. The Acere ...

of the

Mexican League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

. He was released on April 6, 2018. On April 11, 2018, Laffey signed with the

of the

. On May 22, 2018, Laffey's contract was purchased by the

. On June 6, 2018, following a start for the Las Vegas 51s where he allowed 14 runs (12 earned), Laffey announced his retirement.

Personal life

Aaron Laffey married Jackie Laffey on December 1, 2007, after a three-year engagement. They have two sons and a daughter together, Braeden Parker (June 27, 2010), Ashton Ryker (November 10, 2011) and Peyton Grace (February 27, 2015).

Scouting

His secondary pitches include an above-average slider and changeup. He primarily throws an 87-88 mph sinker which classifies him as a ground-ball pitcher.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Laffey, Aaron 1985 births Living people Acereros de Monclova players Albuquerque Isotopes players American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Akron Aeros players Baseball players from Maryland Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Burlington Indians players (1986–2006) Cleveland Indians players Colorado Rockies players Columbus Clippers players Kinston Indians players Lake County Captains players Las Vegas 51s players Mahoning Valley Scrappers players Major League Baseball pitchers Mexican League baseball pitchers Nashville Sounds players New York Mets players New York Yankees players Reno Aces players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees players Seattle Mariners players Somerset Patriots players Sportspeople from Cumberland, Maryland Syracuse Chiefs players Toronto Blue Jays players United States national baseball team players 2015 WBSC Premier12 players