Antonio Francisco Bastardo Rafael (born September 21, 1985) is a

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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weat ...

who is currently a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

. He is from the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...

. He previously 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 Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, 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 ...

Professional career

Philadelphia Phillies

2007

Bastardo was signed by the Philadelphia Phillies in 2007 and assigned to the

Lakewood BlueClaws The Jersey Shore BlueClaws (formerly Lakewood BlueClaws) are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Lakewood, New Jersey, and are named for their locat ...

of the "Low 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 ...

. In Lakewood, Bastardo went 9–0, with a 1.87

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

in 15 games, all of which he started. He had 98

strikeouts In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

and 42 walks in 91.2 innings of work. At the end of the 2007 season, Bastardo was promoted to the Clearwater Threshers of the "High A" Florida State League. For the Threshers in 2007, Bastardo appeared in one game, in which he gave up four earned runs but struck out twelve in five innings.

2008

Bastardo began the 2008 season in Clearwater, where he went 2–0 with a 1.17 earned run average and struck out 47 batters in his 30.2 innings of work. He was then called up to the

Reading Phillies Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...

of the Double-A Eastern League. In Reading, Bastardo went 2–5 with a 3.76 earned run average in 14 starts. He pitched 67 innings, striking out 62, walking 37, and allowing 56 hits.

2009

Before the 2009 season, Bastardo was converted from a starting pitcher to a

, but was converted right back to a starter after only a handful of outings. Phillies pitching coach Rich Dubee said that Bastardo had a chance to be in the major leagues at some point in 2009. He was also invited to the Phillies' training camp as a

non-roster invitee A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, and ...

but was sent to minor league camp on March 16, 2009. After he was sent down, Bastardo joined the

Lehigh Valley IronPigs The Lehigh Valley IronPigs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and are named in reference to pig iron, used in the ...

for the rest of spring training before being sent down to the

. '' Baseball America'' ranked him as the 11th-best prospect in the Phillies organization in 2009. After posting a 2–2 record, 1.82 ERA in nine games, Bastardo was called up to the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. On May 30, 2009, the Phillies announced that Bastardo would make his major league debut in a start at San Diego on Tuesday, June 2.

2009

After

Brett Myers Brett Allen Myers (born August 17, 1980) is an American singer and former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies, Houston Astros, Chicago White Sox, and Cleveland Indians. Born and rai ...

tore his labrum and placed on the 15-day disabled list, the Philadelphia Phillies called up Bastardo on June 2, 2009. He won in his first start against the Padres, allowing only one earned run during his six innings pitched. After his Phillies' debut, Bastardo recorded a 2–3 record with a 6.75 ERA and 19 strikeouts. On June 25, during a start against the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home v ...

he suffered a

shoulder The human shoulder is made up of three bones: the clavicle (collarbone), the scapula (shoulder blade), and the humerus (upper arm bone) as well as associated muscles, ligaments and tendons. The articulations between the bones of the shoulder mak ...

injury that forced him to go on the disabled list. He returned to the Phillies roster for the postseason, where he made a relief appearance in the second game of the

National League Division Series In Major League Baseball, the National League Division Series (NLDS) determines which two teams from the National League will advance to the National League Championship Series. The Division Series consists of two best-of-five series, featuring ...

against the Colorado Rockies, striking out

Jason Giambi Jason Gilbert Giambi (; born January 8, 1971) is an American former professional baseball first baseman and designated hitter. In his Major League Baseball (MLB) career, which began in 1995, Giambi played for the Oakland Athletics, New York Yank ...

with two outs and the bases loaded.

2010

For the 2010 season, Bastardo was converted into a full-time

. He was placed on the 15-day disabled list on June 17, 2010. For the season, he recorded two wins and no losses, and an ERA of 4.34.

2011

On April 24, Bastardo earned his first save in the major leagues when he relieved

Roy Halladay Harry Leroy "Roy" Halladay III (May 14, 1977 – November 7, 2017) was an American professional baseball pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays and Philadelphia Phillies between 1998 and 2013. His nicknam ...

after innings, inducing one

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

batter to pop out and completing the game. Bastardo was chosen as interim closer for the Phillies when

Ryan Madson Ryan Michael Madson (born August 28, 1980) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies, Kansas City Royals, Oakland Athletics, Washington Nationals, and Los Angeles D ...

went on the disabled list. Bastardo once pitched a 17-inning scoreless streak, lowering his ERA to 0.78 in the process. He would finish the season with a 6–1 record and a 2.64 ERA. On November 14, 2011, it was announced that Bastardo had agreed to let

Jonathan Papelbon Jonathan Robert Papelbon (; born November 23, 1980) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. He played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), most notably for the Boston Red Sox, with whom he was an All-Star in four cons ...

wear Bastardo's former number 58. Bastardo would end up wearing number 37.

2012

In 2012, Bastardo posted a win–loss record of 2-5 and an ERA of 4.33. Following the season, Bastardo changed his number again, this time to 59, so relief pitcher Mike Adams could wear his number 37.

2013

On August 5, 2013, Bastardo was suspended 50 games by Major League Baseball as part of the

Biogenesis baseball scandal The Biogenesis scandal broke in 2013 when several Major League Baseball (MLB) players were accused of obtaining performance-enhancing drugs ("PEDs"), specifically human growth hormone, from the now-defunct rejuvenation clinic Biogenesis of America ...

. At the time of his suspension, which kept him out for the remainder of the season, he was 3–2 with an ERA of 2.32.

2014

Coming off part of a season during which he was one of the Phillies most "reliable" relief pitchers, Bastardo sought to stabilize the bullpen in 2014 for the Phillies. He recorded an ERA of 3.94 in 67 games.

Pittsburgh Pirates

On December 10, 2014, the Phillies traded Bastardo to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for Joely Rodríguez. Bastardo appeared in 66 games for the Pirates in 2015, recording a win–loss record of 4–1, one save, and an ERA of 2.91.

New York Mets

On January 22, 2016, Bastardo signed a 2-year, $12 million contract with the

. In 41 games with the Mets, Bastardo recorded an ERA of 4.74. He shared the major league lead in

balk In baseball, a pitcher can commit a number of illegal motions or actions that constitute a balk. Most of these violations involve pitchers pretending to pitch when they have no intention of doing so. In games played under the Official Baseball R ...

s, with four.

Return to Pittsburgh

On August 1, 2016, the Mets traded Bastardo back to the Pirates for

Jon Niese Jonathon Joseph Niese (born October 27, 1986) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets and Pittsburgh Pirates. Early life Niese was born to Jeffery and Annette Niese in L ...

. He made his Pirates return debut on August 2. Bastardo spent 2 months on the disabled list in 2017 with a quad strain. He was ineffective in his 9 appearances for the Pirates, sporting an ERA of 15.00. He was designated for assignment on July 8, 2017, and released on July 13.

Arizona Diamondbacks

On January 23, 2018, 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 ...

signed Bastardo to a minor league deal. He was released on March 20. On July 21, 2018, Bastardo was suspended 140 games for testing positive for the performance-enhancing drug stanozolol.

Professional career

Philadelphia Phillies

2007

2008

2009

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

Pittsburgh Pirates

New York Mets

Return to Pittsburgh

Arizona Diamondbacks

See also

References

External links