Carlos Luis Rivero Milán (born May 20, 1988) is a

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

n professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

for the

Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos The Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos (''Owls of the Two Laredos''), formerly known as the Tecolotes de Nuevo Laredo (''Owls of Nuevo Laredo''), are a Minor League Baseball team based in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, and Laredo, Texas in the Mexican Leagu ...

of the

Mexican League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

. 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

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 ...

. Rivero was originally signed by the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

as an international

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 ...

in 2005, and played for them for five minor league seasons (2006–2010) before joining the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

(2011) and

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

(2012–2013) organizations. He initially began as a strong-armed

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 ...

before being moved to

third base A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

, and has also spent time in

left field In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering system ...

. The Red Sox signed him in December 2013. In between, Rivero played winter baseball for the

Leones del Caracas The Caracas Base Ball Club C.A. or better known by its commercial name as the ''Leones del Caracas'', is a professional baseball team of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. In its creation, its headquarters are the University Stadium of C ...

Bravos de Margarita The Bravos de Margarita (''Margarita Braves'') are a professional baseball team who plays in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League since the 2007-08 season. The team was founded in 1991 as the ''Petroleros de Cabimas'' (''Cabimas Oilers'') ...

and

Cardenales de Lara The Cardenales de Lara ( en, Lara Cardinals) is a baseball team in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. Founded in 1942 and based in Barquisimeto, the ''Cardenales'' have won six domestic titles, including back-to-back in 1998 and 1999, an ...

clubs of the

LVBP The Venezuelan Professional Baseball League or Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional (LVBP) is the professional baseball league in Venezuela. The league's champion takes part in the Caribbean Series each year. History Early years Baseball exp ...

Career

Cleveland Indians

The Venezuelan infielder ranked among the 20-top Cleveland prospects from 2007 through 2009. He also was rated twice by ''

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...

'' as having the best infield arm in the Indians organization in the 2008 and 2009 seasons, before being named the best defensive third baseman in the

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 ...

in 2012 while playing for Washington affiliate the

Syracuse Chiefs Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

. Rivero earned International League All-Star honors during the 2012 season when he played at Syracuse. Previously, he was named the 2007 South Atlantic League Mid-Season All-Star while playing for the

Lake County Captains The Lake County Captains are a Minor League Baseball team in Eastlake, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, that plays in the Midwest League as the High-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. The Captains joined the Class A Midwest League following t ...

, also a Cleveland affiliate.

Boston Red Sox

Not long after signing him, the Red Sox assigned Rivero to Double A

Portland Sea Dogs The Portland Sea Dogs are a Minor League Baseball team based in Portland, Maine, playing in the Eastern League (1938–present), Eastern League. Established in 1994, the Sea Dogs are the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red ...

to start the 2014 season. He then gained a promotion to Triple A

Pawtucket Red Sox The Pawtucket Red Sox, known colloquially as the PawSox, were a professional minor league baseball club based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. From 1973 to 2020, the team was a member of the International League and served as the Triple-A affiliate ...

during the midseason. He struggled after being called up to Triple-A, batting just .179 through eight games in the month of May. But Rivero improved the rest of the way, hitting .319 to go along with a .375

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...

in June. He finished the month with a solid week, recording at least a hit in all seven games to be named the International League Batter of the Week. He went 12-for-28 (.429) during the seven-game span, raising his season average to .286. In addition, Rivero drove in five runs and scored six times, while compiling three

extra-base hits In baseball, an extra-base hit (EB, EBH or XBH), also known as a long hit, is any base hit on which the batter is able to advance past first base without the benefit of a fielder either committing an error or opting to make a throw to retire anot ...

, as his efforts helped Pawtucket conclude a 5-2 stretch. He often filled the

designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. The position is authorized by Major League Baseball Rule 5.11. It was adopted by the American League in 1973 and later by th ...

role when he was not playing on the field. Overall, he hit .262/.320/.379 with five homers and 36 RBI in 74 games for Pawtucket before joining the Boston Red Sox.

Major Leagues

After nine seasons in professional baseball, Rivero became a major leaguer when the Red Sox purchased his contract from Pawtucket on August 25, 2014 after placing shortstop

Xander Bogaerts Xander Jan Bogaerts (born October 1, 1992; ), nicknamed "the X-Man" and "Bogey" or "Bogie", is an Aruban professional baseball shortstop for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Boston Red ...

on the seven-day concussion

disabled list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

. He made his major league debut on August 29, pinch hitting for

Will Middlebrooks William Scott Middlebrooks (born September 9, 1988) is an American former professional baseball third baseman. He made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut with the Boston Red Sox on May 2, 2012, and played with them through 2014. He also play ...

. He was walked in his only plate appearance.

Seattle Mariners

Rivero was claimed off waivers by the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

on November 3, 2014 but on December 2, 2014 he was non-tendered and became a free agent. However, they soon re-signed him to a minor league contract.

Second stint with Boston Red Sox

On August 9, 2015, Rivero was traded back to the

for cash and assigned to Triple-A Pawtucket.

Arizona Diamondbacks

On November 18, 2015, Rivero signed a minor league deal with 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 f ...

. He was assigned to Triple-A. Rivero signed a new minor league contract with the Diamondbacks on January 24, 2017. He was released on June 19, 2017.

Tokyo Yakult Swallows

On July 6, 2017, Rivero signed with the

Tokyo Yakult Swallows The Tokyo Yakult Swallows () are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Shinjuku, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Yom ...

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

Mexican League

On March 20, 2018, Rivero signed with the

Toros de Tijuana The Toros de Tijuana (or Tijuana Bulls) are a Mexican Baseball team based in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. They are members of the Mexican Baseball League and play their home games at Estadio Chevron. Team history Original Attempt The fran ...

of the

. He became a free agent following the season. Rivero signed with the

Bravos de León The Bravos de León (English: León Braves) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in León, Guanajuato, Mexico. History Cachorros de León (1979–80) Mexican League baseball in León began in 1979 when the Alijador ...

for the 2019 season. On February 16, 2020, Rivero was traded to the

Algodoneros de Unión Laguna The Algodoneros de Unión Laguna (English: Laguna Union Cotton Farmers) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Torreón, Coahuila. History Early years The team was established in 1940 under the name Algodoneros de Uni� ...

. Rivero did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the LMB season because of 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 ...

. In 2021, Rivero batted .278/.338/.456 with 11 home runs and 53 RBIs in 65 games. He became a free agent following the season. On January 13, 2022, Rivero re-signed with the

for the 2022 season. On July 14, 2022, he was traded to the

Rieleros de Aguascalientes The Rieleros de Aguascalientes (English: Aguascalientes Railroaders) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Aguascalientes, Mexico. History Baseball arrived in Aguascalientes in hand with the railroad at the beginning o ...

in exchange for P Hayato Takagi. On December 12, 2022, Rivero was traded to the

Accident

On December 6, 2018, Rivero,

Luis Valbuena Luis Adan Valbuena (November 30, 1985 – December 6, 2018) was a Venezuelan professional baseball infielder. He played eleven seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 2008 through 2018, for the Seattle Mariners, Cleveland Indians, Chicago ...

, and José Castillo were in a car in

Yaracuy Yaracuy State ( es, link=no, Estado Yaracuy, ;) is one of the 23 states of Venezuela. It is bordered by Falcón in the north, in the west by Lara, in the south by Portuguesa and Cojedes and in the east by Cojedes and Carabobo. Its geography ...

driven by Rivero's chauffeur when the car struck a rock. The driver tried to avoid it, but crashed. Rivero and the driver survived, but Castillo and Valbuena were killed. Castillo, Rivero, and Valbuena were all members of Venezuelan winter team

, and had played a game the day of the accident.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rivero, Carlos 1988 births Living people Akron Aeros players Algodoneros de Unión Laguna players Baseball first basemen Baseball shortstops Boston Red Sox players Bravos de León players Bravos de Margarita players Burlington Indians players (1986–2006) Cardenales de Lara players Gulf Coast Indians players Harrisburg Senators players Kinston Indians players Lake County Captains players Lehigh Valley IronPigs players Leones del Caracas players Major League Baseball players from Venezuela Major League Baseball third basemen Mexican League baseball third basemen Nippon Professional Baseball first basemen Nippon Professional Baseball third basemen Pawtucket Red Sox players Baseball players from Barquisimeto Peoria Saguaros players Portland Sea Dogs players Reading Phillies players Reno Aces players Syracuse Chiefs players Tacoma Rainiers players Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos players Tokyo Yakult Swallows players Toros de Tijuana players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Japan Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Mexico Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States