Aaron Lee Brooks (born April 27, 1990) is an American

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 ...

in the

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 penna ...

organization. He has 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

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 ...

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

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 ...

, and

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

, and in 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 ...

for the

Kia Tigers Kia Tigers ( ko, KIA 타이거즈) are a South Korean professional baseball team founded in 1982 and based in the southwestern city of Gwangju. Until 2001, they were known as the Haitai Tigers. The Tigers are a members of the KBO League and are ...

Early years

Brooks attended

Cajon High School Cajon High School is located in the University District of San Bernardino, California, and is part of the San Bernardino City Unified School District. Academics Cajon High School is part of the International Baccalaureate Organization (IB) incl ...

San Bernardino, California San Bernardino (; Spanish for "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 cen ...

, and

California State University, San Bernardino California State University, San Bernardino (Cal State San Bernardino or CSUSB) is a public research university in San Bernardino, California. Founded in 1965, it is one of the 23 general campuses of the California State University system. The m ...

, where he played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

for the

Cal State San Bernardino Coyotes The Cal State San Bernardino Coyotes are the men's and women's intercollegiate athletic squads of California State University, San Bernardino. The athletic department was established in 1984 and the school's athletic mascot is the Coyote. The sc ...

Professional career

Kansas City Royals

The

selected Brooks in the ninth round of the

2011 MLB draft The 2011 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2011, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Gerrit Cole out of the University of California, Los Angeles, with the first ...

. Through the 2013 season, Brooks had issued only 1.3 walks per nine innings pitched in total

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other team ...

s. The Royals invited Brooks to

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 2014. They assigned him to the

Omaha Storm Chasers The Omaha Storm Chasers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. They are located in Papillion, Nebraska, a suburb southwest of Omaha, and play their home games at Wer ...

of the

Class AAA Triple-A (officially Class AAA) has been the highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946. Currently, two leagues operate at the Triple-A level, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL ...

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 ...

(PCL) at the start of the 2014 season. Before he could pitch for Omaha, the Royals promoted Brooks to the major leagues on April 5, 2014. He was optioned back to Omaha on April 8 without appearing in a game. He made his MLB debut on May 3.

Oakland Athletics

On July 28, 2015, Brooks and teammate

Sean Manaea Sean Anthony Manaea ( ; born February 1, 1992) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Oakland Athletics and San Diego Padres. He played co ...

were traded to the

for

Ben Zobrist Benjamin Thomas Zobrist (; born May 26, 1981), is an American former professional baseball second baseman and outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays/Rays, Oakland Athletics, Kansas City Royals, and Chi ...

. In his first game for the Athletics, he earned his first major league win.

Chicago Cubs

On February 25, 2016, Brooks was traded to the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

for outfielder

Chris Coghlan Christopher B. Coghlan (pronounced KAHG-lihn; born June 18, 1985) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, Florida / Miami Marlins, Oakland Athletics, and Toronto Blue ...

. Due to a hip

contusion A bruise, also known as a contusion, is a type of hematoma of tissue, the most common cause being capillaries damaged by trauma, causing localized bleeding that extravasates into the surrounding interstitial tissues. Most bruises occur close ...

, Brooks missed most of the 2016 season. When healthy, he pitched for the

Iowa Cubs The Iowa Cubs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in Des Moines, Iowa, and are named for their Major League Baseball (MLB) affiliate. The ...

of the PCL. He was designated for assignment by the Cubs, never playing a single game for the team, on August 22, 2017.

Milwaukee Brewers

The next day, 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 ...

claimed him off waivers. He pitched for the

Colorado Springs Sky Sox The Colorado Springs Sky Sox were a Minor League Baseball team in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The team played in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and was the Triple-A affiliate of the major league Milwaukee Brewers (2015–2018), Colorado Rockie ...

of the PCL, and was promoted to the major leagues on August 30, 2018. The very next day, Brooks was designated for assignment by the Brewers, without appearing in a game, in order to make room on the roster for the team's acquisitions of

Curtis Granderson Curtis Granderson Jr. (born March 16, 1981), nicknamed the "Grandyman", is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, New York Mets, Los Ang ...

and

Gio González Giovany Aramis González (born September 19, 1985) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics, Washington Nationals, Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago White Sox. A two-ti ...

Oakland Athletics (Second stint)

On September 3, 2018, he was acquired by the Athletics for cash considerations, his second stint with the organization. Brooks entered Spring training of 2019 competing for a rotation spot. He won the fifth spot in the rotation after numerous injuries sustained to other starters. On July 3, Brooks was designated for assignment.

Baltimore Orioles

On July 6, 2019, Brooks was claimed off waivers by the

. After finishing the season with the Orioles, he was released to pursue an opportunity in Korea on November 12, 2019.

Kia Tigers

On November 14, 2019, Brooks signed with the

of the

. In 23 starts for Kia in 2020, Brooks pitched to an 11–4 record and 2.50 ERA with 130 strikeouts. On November 19, 2020, Brooks re-signed with the Tigers for the 2021 season, on a $1MM deal with a $200K signing bonus. Brooks worked to a 3.35 ERA in 13 starts for the Tigers in 2021. He was released by the team on August 9, 2021, after traces of marijuana were found in a vape pen he had ordered online.

St. Louis Cardinals

On January 31, 2022, Brooks signed a minor league contract with the

. On March 25, the Cardinals selected Brooks’ contract and added him to the 40-man and Opening Day rosters. He appeared in 5 games for the Cardinals, but struggled to a 7.71 ERA, striking out 7 in 9.1 innings pitched. On May 2, Brooks was designated for assignment by St. Louis when active rosters were reduced from 28 to 26. On May 5, he cleared waivers and was sent outright to the Triple-A

Memphis Redbirds The Memphis Redbirds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They are located in Memphis, Tennessee, and are named for their Major League Baseball affiliate. The Redbir ...

. He spent the remainder of the campaign in Memphis, logging a 5–4 record and 5.56 ERA with 54 strikeouts in 69.2 innings of work. On October 17, Brooks was released by the Cardinals organization.

San Diego Padres

On December 15, 2022, Brooks signed a minor league contract with the

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brooks, Aaron 1990 births Living people Sportspeople from San Bernardino, California Baseball players from California Major League Baseball pitchers American expatriate baseball players in South Korea Kansas City Royals players Oakland Athletics players Baltimore Orioles players Kia Tigers players St. Louis Cardinals players Cal State San Bernardino Coyotes baseball players Idaho Falls Chukars players Kane County Cougars players Wilmington Blue Rocks players Northwest Arkansas Naturals players Omaha Storm Chasers players Nashville Sounds players Iowa Cubs players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Tigres del Licey players