Ariel Bolívar Jurado Agrazal (born January 30, 1996) is a Panamanian

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 ...

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

Kiwoom Heroes The Kiwoom Heroes () are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Seoul. They are a member of the KBO League. The Heroes play their home games at Gocheok Sky Dome in Gocheok-dong, a neighborhood located in the southwestern part of Se ...

of the

KBO League The KBO League (), officially the Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League, is the highest level league of baseball in South Korea. The KBO League was founded with six franchises in 1982 and is the most popular sports league in South Korea. The Kia Tigers ar ...

. 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 Texas Rangers 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

Texas Rangers

Jurado signed with the Texas Rangers as an international free agent in December 2012. He made his professional debut in 2013 with the Rookie-level

DSL Rangers The Dominican Summer League Rangers or DSL Rangers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Dominican Summer League and Rookie affiliates of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Boca Chica, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Since 2014, the tea ...

and spent the whole season there, going 6–0 with a 2.39 ERA in nine starts. In 2014 he played for the Rookie-level

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 ...

, going 2–1 with a 1.63 ERA in innings pitched. Jurado spent 2015 with 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 was named the Nolan Ryan Minor League Pitcher of the Year by the Rangers after going 12–1 with a 2.45

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 ...

(ERA) with 95 strikeouts and only 12 walks in 99 innings. In 2016, he pitched with both the

High Desert Mavericks The High Desert Mavericks were an American Minor League Baseball team in Adelanto, California, that played their home games at Heritage Field at Stater Bros. Stadium. They played in the Class A-Advanced California League. The franchise had eigh ...

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 ...

California League 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 affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Frisco, Texas, and are named for the 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry Regime ...

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 ...

, combining to go 8–6 and 3.66 ERA in 123 innings. He returned to Frisco in 2017, where he posted a 9–11 record and a 4.59 ERA over 157 innings. The Rangers added Jurado to their 40-man roster after the 2017 season. Jurado returned to Frisco to open the 2018 season and posted a 5–3 record with a 3.28 ERA and 58 strikeouts in innings for them. Jurado made his Major League debut on May 19, 2018, at Guaranteed Rate Field 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 ...

. He pitched innings, giving up four earned runs on six hits, two walks, and two strikeouts, earning the loss as the White Sox defeated the Rangers 5–3. He finished his rookie season after going 5–5 with a 5.93 ERA in innings for the Rangers. Left-handed batters had a higher batting average against him, .365 (in 20 or more innings), than against all other MLB pitchers. In 2019, Jurado was optioned to the Nashville Sounds of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League to open the season, and went 3–0 with a 3.57 ERA over innings for them. With Texas in 2019, Jurado went 7–11 with a 5.81 ERA in innings. Jurado was designated for assignment by the Rangers on July 31, 2020.

New York Mets

Jurado was traded to the

on August 5, 2020 in exchange for Stephen Villines and cash considerations. He was sent to the Mets alternate site in Brooklyn. On December 2, Jurado was nontendered by the Mets.

Minnesota Twins

On March 20, 2022, Jurado signed a minor league contract with the Minnesota Twins organization. He elected free agency on November 10, 2022.

Kiwoom Heroes

On November 25, 2022, Jurado signed a 1 year contract with the

of the

for a total of $1 million, including an annual salary of $850,000 and an option of $150,000.

International career

Jurado was selected to represent

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

at the

2023 World Baseball Classic qualification The qualifying round of the 2023 World Baseball Classic will be held in September 2022. Teams which participated at the 2017 World Baseball Classic automatically qualified for the 2023 tournament. The qualifying round is to consist of two tournam ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jurado, Ariel 1996 births Living people People from Aguadulce District Panamanian expatriate baseball players in the United States Major League Baseball players from Panama Major League Baseball pitchers Texas Rangers players New York Mets players Dominican Summer League Rangers players Gulf Coast Rangers players Hickory Crawdads players High Desert Mavericks players Frisco RoughRiders players Navegantes del Magallanes players Panamanian expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Nashville Sounds players Estrellas Orientales players Panamanian expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Fort Myers Mighty Mussels players St. Paul Saints players