Daniel Ricardo Camarena (born November 9, 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 ...

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 was drafted by the

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 ...

in the 20th round of the

2011 Major League Baseball 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 ...

. Listed at and , he throws and bats left-handed. Camarena spent a day on the Yankees' active roster in 2019, but did not appear in a game, earning him the distinction of being a "

phantom ballplayer A phantom ballplayer is either a baseball player who is incorrectly listed in source materials as playing in a Major League Baseball (MLB) game, often the result of typographical or clerical errors, or a player who spent time on an MLB Major Leag ...

". He remained a phantom ballplayer until he made his MLB debut with the Padres in 2021. On July 8, 2021, he became the first

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue (medical), fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection (sports), ejection, or for other strategic ...

to hit a

grand slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

since 1985, and the first pitcher since 1898 to do so on his first

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

Career

New York Yankees

Camarena was drafted by the

in the 20th round, 629th overall, of the

out of

Cathedral Catholic High School Cathedral Catholic High School (CCHS) is a private coeducational Catholic college preparatory day school in San Diego, California serving grades 9–12. It is operated by the Diocese of San Diego. It was founded in 1957 as the University High ...

. On August 16, 2011, Camarena signed with the Yankees over slot value, signing for $335K. Camarena spent the 2017 season with the Double–A

Trenton Thunder The Trenton Thunder are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Trenton, New Jersey, and play their home games at Trenton Thunder Ballpark. From 1994 to 2020, it was a Minor League Baseball team of the Doub ...

and Triple–A

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 ...

. In 22 starts between the two affiliates, he logged a 6–6 record and 3.65 ERA with 78 strikeouts across innings pitched. Camarena elected free agency following the season on November 6, 2017. On January 8, 2018, Camarena signed a minor league contract with 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 ...

. On April 2, he was traded back to the Yankees organization in exchange for future considerations. After posting a 5.08 ERA in 8 starts for Triple–A Scranton, Camarena was released on May 20.

San Francisco Giants

On May 24, 2018, Camarena signed a minor league contract with the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

. He spent the remainder of the season with the Triple–A

Sacramento River Cats The Sacramento River Cats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Prior to 2015, the River Cats were the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics for 15 yea ...

, also appearing in one game for the Double–A

Richmond Flying Squirrels The Richmond Flying Squirrels are a Minor League Baseball team based in Richmond, Virginia. The team, which is a part of the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants major league club, and plays at The Diamond. Th ...

. In 16 games (15 starts) for Sacramento, Camarena registered a 1–8 record and 5.65 ERA with 64 strikeouts across innings pitched. He elected free agency following the season on November 2.

Minnesota Twins

On January 19, 2019, Camarena signed a minor league contract with the

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 ...

. He made one appearances for the Triple–A

Rochester Red Wings The Rochester Red Wings are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Rochester, New York, and play their home games at Innovative Field ...

, allowing three runs on five hits with six strikeouts in innings pitched. Camarena was released by the Twins organization on April 29.

New York Yankees (second stint)

On May 8, 2019, Camarena signed a minor league contract to return to the

organization. On July 6, Camarena was selected to the

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, and ...

and promoted to the major leagues for the first time. However, he was optioned to Triple-A the next day without appearing in a game, becoming a

. In 17 games (16 starts) for Scranton, Camarena struggled to a 4–8 record and 6.27 ERA with 88 strikeouts across 99 innings of work. On August 13, he was released by the Yankees organization.

San Diego Padres

On February 13, 2020, Camarena signed a minor league contract with the

organization. He did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league 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 ...

. On July 19, 2020, Camarena was added to the Padres’ 60-man player pool for the pandemic-shortened season, but spent the year at the alternate training site without making an MLB appearance. He was assigned to the Triple-A

El Paso Chihuahuas The El Paso Chihuahuas are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. They are located in El Paso, Texas, and play their home games at Southwest University ...

to begin the 2021 season. Camerena was named the

Triple-A West 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 level, which is one grade below Major League Bas ...

pitcher of the week for the week of June 7–13, 2021. On June 18, the Padres' added Camarena to their

taxi squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

. The next day, he was selected to the active roster. He made his MLB debut that day against 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 ...

, pitching 2.2 innings and allowing 3 earned runs. In the game, he also notched his first career strikeout, punching out Reds infielder Mike Freeman. On July 8, 2021, Camarena hit a

off

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 ...

pitcher

Max Scherzer Maxwell Martin Scherzer (born July 27, 1984) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Detroit Tigers, Washington Nationals, and L ...

, sparking a comeback from an 8–0 deficit which resulted in a 9–8 victory for the Padres. This made Camarena the first MLB

to hit a grand slam since Don Robinson in 1985, and the first pitcher to hit a grand slam for his first career hit since

Bill Duggleby William James Duggleby (March 16, 1874 – August 30, 1944), nicknamed "Frosty Bill", was a pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies. He played from 1898 to 1907. He also played two games for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1902 and nine games for th ...

of 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 ...

in 1898, and the second Padres pitcher since

Mike Corkins Michael Patrick Corkins (born May 25, 1946) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. The right-hander was signed by the San Francisco Giants as an amateur free agent before the 1965 season, and later drafted by the San Diego Padres from the Gia ...

who hit one off the Reds in 1970. Camarena would appear in 6 major league games for San Diego, posting a 9.64 ERA with 7 strikeouts. On October 30, Camarena was outrighted off of the 40-man roster and elected free agency on November 7. On January 26, 2022, Camarena re-signed with the Padres on a minor league contract. On April 7, Camarena was released by the Padres. Camarena re-signed with the Padres organization on a new minor league contract on April 14 before he was placed on the 60-day injured list on April 19 after undergoing

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, colloquially known as Tommy John surgery (TJS), is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's bo ...

. He became a free agent following the season on November 6. On December 29, 2023, Camarena re-signed with the Padres on a minor league contract.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Camarena, Daniel 1992 births Living people People from Bonita, California Baseball players from San Diego County, California Major League Baseball pitchers San Diego Padres players Gulf Coast Yankees players Charleston RiverDogs players Trenton Thunder players Tampa Yankees players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders players Sacramento River Cats players Richmond Flying Squirrels players Rochester Red Wings players El Paso Chihuahuas players San Antonio Missions players Cathedral Catholic High School alumni