Demarcus Malik Evans (born October 22, 1996) 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

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 ...

organization. He made his

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) debut in 2020 for the Texas Rangers.

Amateur career

Evans attended Petal High School in

Petal, Mississippi Petal is a city in Forrest County, Mississippi, along the Leaf River. It is part of the Hattiesburg, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 10,454 in the 2010 census, increasing to 11,010 in the 2020 census. History T ...

. Evans was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 25th round of 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 ...

and signed with them for a $100,000

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 ...

, forgoing his college commitment to

Hinds Community College Hinds Community College is a public community college with its main campus in Raymond, Mississippi and branches in Jackson and Vicksburg. The Hinds Community College District includes Hinds County, Claiborne County, part of Copiah County, Ran ...

Professional career

Texas Rangers

After signing, Evans was assigned to the

Arizona League Rangers The Arizona Complex League Rangers are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Texas Rangers, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Surprise Stadium in Surprise, Arizona. The team is compose ...

of the Rookie-level

Arizona League The Arizona Complex League (ACL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in and around Phoenix, Arizona, since 1988. Prior to 2021, it was known as the Arizona League (AZL). Along with the Florida Complex League (FCL), it f ...

to make his professional debut; in innings pitched for them, he posted a 0–0 record with a 2.31 ERA. He split the 2016 season between the AZL Rangers and 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 ...

of the

Class A Short Season Class A Short Season (officially Short-Season A) was a level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States from 1965 through 2020. In the hierarchy of minor league classifications, it was below Triple-A, Double-A, Class A-Advanced (cre ...

Northwest League The Northwest League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Pacific Northwest, Northwestern United States and Western Canada. A Class A Short Season league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Maj ...

. In a combined 14 games (12 starts), he went 1–2 with a 2.95 ERA, striking out 75 in 55 innings. He split 2017 between the AZL Rangers, Spokane, and

Hickory Crawdads The Hickory Crawdads are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League (SAL) and the High-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Hickory, North Carolina, and play their home games at L. P. Frans Stadium, which opened i ...

of the Class A

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

, going a combined 2–8 with a 4.53 ERA in 20 games (14 starts). He spent 2018 with Hickory, going 4–1 with a 1.77 ERA, while striking out 103 in 56.0 innings. He earned a spot on the

post-season all-star team. After the 2018 regular season, Evans played for the

Surprise Saguaros The Surprise Saguaros are a baseball team that plays in the West Division of the Arizona Fall League. They play their home games in Surprise, Arizona, at Surprise Stadium. The ballpark is also the spring training facility of the Kansas City Royal ...

of the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season sports league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during the autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are fill ...

. Evans was named the Texas Rangers 2018 Minor League Reliever of the Year. Evans was assigned to the

Down East Wood Ducks The Down East Wood Ducks are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League and the owned-and-operated Single-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Kinston, North Carolina, and are named for the wood duck, a local colorful wa ...

of the

Class A-Advanced High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

to open the 2019 season. He went 4–0 with a 0.81 ERA and 40 strikeouts in innings for them. On May 29, he was promoted to the

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 ...

of the Double-A

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

. With Frisco, Evans went 2–0 with a 0.96 ERA and 60 strikeouts over innings. Evans was named the 2019 MiLB Relief Pitcher of the Year 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 ...

. Evans was named the Texas Rangers 2019 Minor League Reliever of the Year. Following the 2019 season, Evans played for

Leones del Escogido Leones del Escogido (English: ''Chosen One Lions'' or ''Lions of Chosen One'' or ''Picked Lions'') is a professional baseball team in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Established in , Leones are the third most successful team in the Dominican Wi ...

of the

Dominican Winter League Dominican may refer to: * Someone or something from or related to the Dominican Republic ( , stress on the "mi"), on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles, in the Caribbean ** People of the Dominican Republic ** Demographics of the Domi ...

. Evans was added to the Rangers 40–man roster following the 2019 season. On September 15, 2020, Evans was promoted to the major leagues for the first time. He made his debut on September 18 against the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

, surrendering

Albert Pujols José Alberto Pujols Alcántara () (); born January 16, 1980) is a Dominican-American former professional baseball first baseman, designated hitter and third baseman who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Nicknamed "The Machine", ...

' career home run number 662. In four appearances for Texas in 2020, Evans recorded a 2.25 ERA with 4 strikeouts over 4 innings. Evans split the 2021 season between Texas and the

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 ...

of 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 ...

. With Texas he went 0–2 with a 5.13 ERA and 33 strikeouts over innings, and with Round Rock he posted a 2–0 record with a 3.74 ERA and 31 strikeouts over innings. He was designated for assignment on June 26, 2022. Evans cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple-A Round Rock on July 1. He spent the 2022 season back with Round Rock, going 2–3 with a 3.82 ERA over 33 innings. He elected free agency on November 10, 2022.

New York Yankees

On December 8, 2022, Evans signed a minor league contract with the

Personal life

Evans and

outfielder Anthony Alford are

cousin Most generally, in the lineal kinship system used in the English-speaking world, a cousin is a type of familial relationship in which two relatives are two or more familial generations away from their most recent common ancestor. Commonly, " ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Demarcus 1996 births Living people People from Petal, Mississippi Baseball players from Mississippi African-American baseball players Major League Baseball pitchers Texas Rangers players Arizona League Rangers players Spokane Indians players Hickory Crawdads players Down East Wood Ducks players Frisco RoughRiders players Round Rock Express players Surprise Saguaros players Leones del Escogido players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic 21st-century African-American sportspeople