César Prieto (born May 10, 1999) is a Cuban

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 ...

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

in the

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 ...

organization.

Career

Prieto was a member of the

Cuba national baseball team The Cuba national baseball team (Spanish: ''Selección de béisbol de Cuba'') represents Cuba at regional and international levels. The team is made up from the most professional players from the Cuban national baseball system. Cuba has been des ...

. He also joined the Elefantes de Cienfuegos in 2017. His performance as an

and

batter Batter or batters may refer to: Common meanings * Batter (cooking), thin dough that can be easily poured into a pan * Batter (baseball), person whose turn it is to face the pitcher * Batter (cricket), a player who is currently batting * Batter ...

was considered one of the best in Cuba. Prieto defected to the United States in 2021 while in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

for the qualifying tournament for the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Baltimore Orioles

On January 16, 2022, Prieto signed with 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 ...

as an international free agent for a bonus of $650,000. He split the season between the High–A Aberdeen IronBirds and Double–A

Bowie Baysox The Bowie Baysox are a Minor League Baseball team located in Bowie, Maryland. They are the Double-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, and play in the Eastern League. Their home ballpark is Prince George's Stadium. History From 1989 to 1992, ...

. In 115 total contests, Prieto batted .273/.314/.404 with 11 home runs and 57 RBI. In 2023, Prieto played in 58 games for Bowie, hitting .364 with 4 home runs and 29 RBI before he was promoted to the Triple–A Norfolk Tides. In 27 games for Norfolk, he slashed .317/.365/.471 with 2 home runs and 20 RBI.

St. Louis Cardinals

On August 1, 2023, Prieto, Drew Rom, and Zack Showalter were traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for pitcher

Jack Flaherty Jack Rafe Flaherty (born October 15, 1995) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). Selected by the Cardinals in the first round of the 2014 MLB draft, he made his MLB debut in 2017 ...

References

External links

1999 births Living people Defecting Cuban baseball players Defectors to the United States Elefantes de Cienfuegos players Naranjas de Villa Clara players Aberdeen IronBirds players Baseball infielders Bowie Baysox players People from Cienfuegos Sportspeople from Cienfuegos {{Cuba-baseball-infielder-stub