Alexander "Chi Chi" González (born January 15, 1992) 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 ...

who is a free agent. 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 Texas Rangers,

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

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 ...

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

and

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The franc ...

. González goes by Chi Chi, a nickname given to him by his grandfather.

Career

Amateur career

Gonzalez attended

Boca Raton Community High School Boca Raton Community High School is a magnet high school that is part of the School District of Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It has been rated an "A" school each consecutive year by the Florida Department of Education since 2005 and ...

Boca Raton, Florida Boca Raton ( ; es, Boca Ratón, link=no, ) is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It was first incorporated on August 2, 1924, as "Bocaratone," and then incorporated as "Boca Raton" in 1925. The population was 97,422 in the ...

, and played for the school's baseball team as a

and

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 ...

. The

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 ...

selected Gonzalez in the 11th round of the

2010 Major League Baseball draft The 2010 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held on June 7–9, 2010 at the MLB Network Studios in Secaucus, New Jersey. First-round selections The draft order was determined based on the 2009 MLB standings, with the worst team pic ...

. Rather than sign with the Orioles, Gonzalez attended

Oral Roberts University Oral Roberts University (ORU) is a private evangelical university in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Founded in 1963, the university is named after its founder, evangelist Oral Roberts. Sitting on a campus, ORU offers over 70 undergraduate degree programs ...

, 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

Oral Roberts Golden Eagles The Oral Roberts Golden Eagles are the sixteen college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Oral Roberts University, located in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Golden Eagles compete at the National Collegiate Athle ...

. In 2012, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

in the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox.

Texas Rangers

The Texas Rangers selected Gonzalez in the first round, with the 23rd overall selection, of the

2013 Major League Baseball draft The 2013 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2013. The first two rounds were broadcast from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. Each team received one selection per round, going in ...

. He made his professional debut with the

Spokane Indians The Spokane Indians are a Minor League Baseball team located in Spokane Valley, the city immediately east of Spokane, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest. The Indians are members of the High-A Northwest League (NWL) as an affiliate of the Color ...

and also played for the

Myrtle Beach Pelicans The Myrtle Beach Pelicans are a Minor League Baseball team in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and the Single-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. The Pelicans compete in the Carolina League. Home games are played at TicketReturn.com Field, which open ...

. Prior to the 2014 season, ''

Baseball Prospectus Baseball Prospectus (BP) is an organization that publishes a website, BaseballProspectus.com, devoted to the sabermetric analysis of baseball. BP has a staff of regular columnists and provides advanced statistics as well as player and team perf ...

'' rated Gonzalez as the 70th best prospect in baseball. He started the season with Myrtle Beach before being promoted to the Double-A

Frisco RoughRiders The Frisco RoughRiders (often shortened to 'Riders) are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers. They are located in Frisco, Texas, and are nam ...

. He started 2015 with the Triple-A

Round Rock Express The Round Rock Express are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Round Rock, Texas, and play their home games at the Dell Diamond. The team is named ...

. Gonzalez was called up to the majors for the first time on May 30, 2015, and made his major league debut that day. He faced the veteran lineup of 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 ...

and began the game pitching innings without surrendering a hit. It was the longest no-hit stretch to begin a career for a Rangers pitcher since 1992. On June 5, 2015, Gonzalez threw a complete-game shutout against 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 ...

. It was his first career complete game. Gonzalez was optioned down to Triple-A Round Rock July 4, 2015. Gonzalez was diagnosed with a partial tear to the UCL in spring training of 2017. He was declared to need Tommy John surgery, ending his 2017 season plus the whole 2018 season. On November 2, 2018, Gonzalez elected free agency.

Colorado Rockies

On December 4, 2018, Gonzalez signed a minor league deal with the

. On June 25, 2019, his contract was selected by the Rockies. In 2019, Gonzalez pitched to a 5.29 earned run average over 14 games for the Rockies, with 46 strikeouts. In 2020 for the Rockies, Gonzalez pitched to a 6.86 ERA with 16 strikeouts in 19.2 innings pitched. On December 2, Gonzalez was nontendered by the Rockies. On December 11, 2020, Gonzalez re-signed with the Rockies on a minor league contract. On March 27, 2021, Gonzalez was selected to the 40-man roster. Gonzalez made 24 appearances for the Rockies, going 3–7 with a 6.46 earned run average and 56 strikeouts. On October 3, the Rockies designated Gonzalez for assignment. On October 8, Gonzalez elected free agency.

Minnesota Twins

On March 18, 2022, Gonzalez signed a minor league deal with the

. He had his contract selected on June 3, and was returned to Triple-A on June 4. On June 10, Gonzalez triggered the opt-out clause in his contract, giving Minnesota until the weekend to add him to the 40-man roster or release him. The next day, Gonzalez was selected to the active roster to 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) American League East, East division. Since its inception ...

. He lasted 4.0 innings, giving up 3 earned runs on 8 hits while striking out 3, and was designated for assignment following the game.

Milwaukee Brewers

On June 14, 2022, Gonzalez was claimed off waivers by the

after having been

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must within seven days, return the pla ...

by the Minnesota Twins. He made his first start for Milwaukee on June 21, 2022. In 4 games (2 starts) for Milwaukee, Gonzalez registered a 6.35 ERA with 8 strikeouts in 11.1 innings pitched. He was designated for assignment on July 12. He cleared waivers and was sent outright to the Triple-A

Nashville Sounds The Nashville Sounds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, and are named for the ci ...

on July 16. However, González rejected the assignment and elected free agency.

Detroit Tigers

On July 22, 2022, Gonzalez signed a minor league deal with the Tigers and assigned him to the

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A Mud Hens team has played in ...

. On August 26, 2022, he opted out of the minor league contract and was released.

New York Yankees

On August 30, 2022, Gonzalez signed a minor league deal with the

. He was called up and made his first start on October 2, against the

. He was designated for assignment on October 3, and assigned the

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (often abbreviated to SWB RailRiders) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They are located in Moosic, Pen ...

. On October 24, Gonzalez elected free agency.

Miami Marlins

On December 15, 2022, Gonzalez signed a minor league deal with the

. He began the 2023 season with the Triple-A

Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in Jacksonville, Florida, and are named for shrimp caught in the area. The team pla ...

, making 6 starts and registering a 2-2 record and 4.54 ERA with 18 strikeouts in innings pitched. On May 4, 2023, Gonzalez had his contract selected to the active roster. In 2 relief appearances for Miami, Gonzalez surrendered 1 run on 4 hits with 2 strikeouts in 2.2 innings pitched. He was designated for assignment on May 12, following the promotion of Eury Pérez. He cleared waivers and was sent outright to Jacksonville on May 14. On September 17, Gonzalez had his contract selected back to the major league roster. He was designated for assignment for a second time on September 20. Gonzalez again cleared waivers and was outrighted to Jacksonville on September 23. He elected free agency on October 15.

Personal life

Gonzalez is of Cuban descent.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gonzalez, Chi Chi 1992 births Living people Albuquerque Isotopes players American sportspeople of Cuban descent Arizona Complex League Rockies players Arizona League Rangers players Boca Raton Community High School alumni Colorado Rockies players Frisco RoughRiders players Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp players Major League Baseball pitchers Miami Marlins players Milwaukee Brewers players Minnesota Twins players Myrtle Beach Pelicans players New York Yankees players Oral Roberts Golden Eagles baseball players Round Rock Express players Spokane Indians players Sportspeople from Delray Beach, Florida Baseball players from Palm Beach County, Florida Texas Rangers players Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox players