Blake Matthew Trahan (born September 5, 1993) is an American former

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 ...

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

. He played for the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

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).

Career

Trahan attended

Kinder High School Kinder is the German word for "children"; it may also refer to: Businesses *Kinder, a trademark of Ferrero, an Italian confectioner: **Kinder Surprise **Kinder Chocolate bars **Kinder Happy Hippo **Kinder Bueno ** Kinder Joy *Kinder Morgan Energy ...

Kinder, Louisiana Kinder is a small town in Allen Parish, Louisiana, in the United States. The population was 2,477 at the 2010 census. The Lieutenant Douglas B. Fournet Memorial Park, an American Legion enterprise, was dedicated on June 11, 1988, in Kinder t ...

. He enrolled at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette to play

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

Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns baseball The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns baseball team is the college baseball team of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. The Ragin' Cajuns baseball team competes in NCAA Division I in the Sun Belt Conference. They play their home games on campus at M. ...

team. In 2015, Trahan was named the

Sun Belt Conference The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA's Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football conference, the Sun Belt began sponsoring football in 2001. Its football teams participa ...

Baseball Player of the Year.

Cincinnati Reds

Considered a potential first round draft pick in the

2015 MLB Draft Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music *Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak album ...

, the

selected Trahan in the third round, with the 84th overall selection. Trahan signed with the Reds, receiving a $708,900

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

, and began his professional career with the

Billings Mustangs The Billings Mustangs are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. They are located in Billings, Montana, and have played their home games at Dehler ...

of the Rookie-level Pioneer League. After posting a .312 batting average with an .803 OPS, he was promoted to the

Daytona Tortugas The Daytona Tortugas are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Daytona Beach, Florida, and play their home games at Jackie Robinson Ballpark; opened in 191 ...

of the Class A-Advanced

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

to end the season, where he struggled, batting .139 in 11 games. In 2016, he returned to Daytona, where he posted a .263 batting average, along with four home runs, 47 RBIs, and 25 stolen bases. He played for the Pensacola Blue Wahoos of the Class AA Southern League in 2017 where he batted .222 with two home runs and 27 RBIs in 136 games. In 2018, he played for the

Louisville Bats The Louisville Bats are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Louisville, Kentucky, and are named in dual reference to the bat, win ...

of the Class AAA

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

. The Reds promoted him to the major leagues on September 1. He played in 11 games for Cincinnati. After the 2018 season, he won the Minor League Baseball Rawlings Gold Glove Award. Trahan began the 2019 season with Louisville. On August 5, 2019, Trahan was designated for assignment, and outrighted off the roster on August 8. Trahan participated in 2020 spring training with the Reds, which was canceled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. Upon the resumption of the MLB season in July, Trahan was invited to return to the team on June 28, but opted to retire from baseball.

References

External links

1993 births Living people People from Allen Parish, Louisiana Baseball players from Louisiana Major League Baseball shortstops Cincinnati Reds players Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns baseball players Greeneville Reds players Billings Mustangs players Daytona Tortugas players Pensacola Blue Wahoos players Louisville Bats players Scottsdale Scorpions players Tigres del Licey players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic {{US-baseball-shortstop-stub