Alexander Claudio (born January 31, 1992) is a Puerto Rican

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

for 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 ...

organization. He has played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Brewers,

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

and

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

. Claudio pitches in an unorthodox sidearm manner.

Career

Texas Rangers

Claudio attended Isabel Flores High School in

Juncos, Puerto Rico Juncos (, ) is a town and one of the 78 municipalities of Puerto Rico. It is located in the eastern central region of the island to the west of the Caguas Valley, south of Canóvanas and Carolina; southeast of Gurabo; east of San Lorenzo; an ...

. Claudio was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 27th round of the

2010 MLB draft The 2010 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held on June 7–9, 2010 at the MLB Network Studios in Secaucus, New Jersey. First-round selections The draft order was determined based on the 2009 MLB standings, with the worst team pic ...

. Claudio spent his first professional season of 2010 playing for the

AZL Rangers The Arizona Complex League Rangers are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Texas Rangers, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Surprise Stadium in Surprise, Arizona. The team is compose ...

of the Rookie-level

Arizona League The Arizona Complex League (ACL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in and around Phoenix, Arizona, since 1988. Prior to 2021, it was known as the Arizona League (AZL). Along with the Florida Complex League (FCL), it f ...

, going 0–1 with a 6.60 ERA in 15 innings. He split the 2011 season Between the AZL Rangers and the

Spokane Indians The Spokane Indians are a Minor League Baseball team located in Spokane Valley, the city immediately east of Spokane, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest. The Indians are members of the High-A Northwest League (NWL) as an affiliate of the Color ...

of the

Class A Short Season Class A Short Season (officially Short-Season A) was a level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States from 1965 through 2020. In the hierarchy of minor league classifications, it was below Triple-A, Double-A, Class A-Advanced (cre ...

Northwest League The Northwest League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Pacific Northwest, Northwestern United States and Western Canada. A Class A Short Season league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Maj ...

, going a combined 5–0 with a 1.91 ERA over 28 innings. He returned to the AZL Rangers in 2012, going 4–0 with a 1.79 ERA over 45 innings. Following the 2012 season, Claudio converted from a traditional over the top pitching delivery to a sidearm delivery. Claudio played for the

Hickory Crawdads The Hickory Crawdads are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League (SAL) and the High-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Hickory, North Carolina, and play their home games at L. P. Frans Stadium, which opened i ...

of the Class A

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

and the

Frisco RoughRiders The Frisco RoughRiders (often shortened to 'Riders) are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers. They are located in Frisco, Texas, and are nam ...

of the Double-A

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

in 2013, going a combined 4–6 with a 1.83 ERA over innings. He split the 2014 minor league season between the

Myrtle Beach Pelicans The Myrtle Beach Pelicans are a Minor League Baseball team in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and the Single-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. The Pelicans compete in the Carolina League. Home games are played at TicketReturn.com Field, which open ...

of the

Class A-Advanced High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

, Frisco, and the

Round Rock Express The Round Rock Express are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Round Rock, Texas, and play their home games at the Dell Diamond. The team is named ...

of the Triple-A

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

, combining to go 6–3 with a 1.66 ERA over innings. The Rangers selected Claudio's contract and promoted him to the major leagues for the first time on August 13, 2014. He pitched a scoreless inning, and struck out

Kevin Kiermaier Kevin James Kiermaier (; born April 22, 1990) is an American professional baseball center fielder for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Tampa Bay Rays from 2013 to 2022. Kiermaier was part of amat ...

for his first major league strikeout in his debut that night. He went 0–0 with a 2.92 ERA over 12 innings for Texas in 2014. Claudio split the 2015 season between Texas and Round Rock. With the Rangers, he went 1–1 with a 2.87 ERA over 15.2 innings. With Round Rock, he went 3–1 with a 2.93 ERA over 40 innings. Claudio once again split the season between Texas and Round Rock in 2016. With the Rangers, he went 4–1 with a 2.79 ERA in innings. With Round Rock, he went 0–0 with a 0.55 ERA in 16 innings. Claudio was named the 2017 Texas Rangers Pitcher of the Year, following a season where he posted a 4–1 record with a 2.50 ERA, 56 strikeouts, and 11 saves over innings in 70 games. In 2018, Claudio went 4–2 with a 4.48 ERA over 68 innings. Right-handed batters had a higher batting average against him, .359, than against all other MLB pitchers in 30 or more innings.

Milwaukee Brewers

Claudio was traded to the

on December 13, 2018, in exchange for a competitive balance Round A draft pick. In 2019, he posted a 2–2 record with a 4.06 ERA over 62 innings. He led all major league pitchers in games played (83). Claudio was non-tendered and became a free agent on December 2, 2019. He re-signed with Milwaukee on a one-year contract on December 9, 2019. Claudio made 20 appearances for the Brewers in 2020, recording a 4.26 ERA with 15 strikeouts and 6 walks in 19.0 innings of work. On December 2, 2020, Claudio was non-tendered by the Brewers and became a free agent.

Los Angeles Angels

On December 16, 2020, Claudio signed a one-year, $1.125 million deal with the

. On July 25, 2021, Claudio 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 ...

by the Angels after struggling to a 5.51 ERA across 41 appearances. He was released on July 30, 2021.

Boston Red Sox

On August 10, 2021, Claudio signed minor league deal with the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

. He was assigned to the Triple-A

Worcester Red Sox The Worcester Red Sox (nicknamed the WooSox) are a professional minor league baseball team based in Worcester, Massachusetts. Beginning play in 2021, the team is the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, succeeding the Pawt ...

. Claudio made 8 appearances for Worcester, recording a 6.17 ERA with 13 strikeouts. On September 21, the Red Sox released Claudio.

New York Mets

On January 13, 2022, Claudio signed a minor league contract with the

. He had his contract selected on September 7, 2022. On September 30, Claudio was designated for assignment.

Milwaukee Brewers (second stint)

On January 3, 2023, Claudio signed a minor league contract with the

organization.

International career

Claudio was a member of the 2017

Puerto Rico national baseball team The Puerto Rico national baseball team ( es, Selección de béisbol de Puerto Rico) is the national baseball team of Puerto Rico. The men's senior team is currently ranked 13th in the world. Puerto Rico is the incumbent Baseball at the 2019 Pan ...

in the

2017 World Baseball Classic The 2017 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, composed of 16 competing nations, held from March 6 to March 22, 2017. It was the fourth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. The first-round hosts ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Claudio, Alex 1992 births Living people People from Juncos, Puerto Rico Sportspeople from San Juan, Puerto Rico Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Puerto Rico Texas Rangers players Milwaukee Brewers players Los Angeles Angels players New York Mets players Arizona League Rangers players Spokane Indians players Hickory Crawdads players Myrtle Beach Pelicans players Frisco RoughRiders players Round Rock Express players Leones de Ponce players Indios de Mayagüez players Worcester Red Sox players 2017 World Baseball Classic players