Drew James Rucinski (born December 30, 1988) 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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

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 ...

for the Oakland Athletics of

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). He has previously played in MLB for the

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 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 h ...

, Minnesota Twins, and Miami Marlins, and in the

KBO League The KBO League (), officially the Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League, is the highest level league of baseball in South Korea. The KBO League was founded with six franchises in 1982 and is the most popular sports league in South Korea. The Kia Tigers ar ...

for the

NC Dinos The NC Dinos ( ko, NC 다이노스) are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Changwon. They are a member of the KBO League. Since 2019, their home stadium is Changwon NC Park. NC Dinos are owned by video game developer NCSoft Corp ...

Career

Cleveland Indians

Rucinski 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 p ...

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

for the

Ohio State Buckeyes The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio State University, located in Columbus, Ohio. The athletic programs are named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Ohio and after the state tre ...

from 2008 to 2011. He was 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 Fi ...

as an

undrafted 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 2011. In 2012 and 2013 he played for the Rockford RiverHawks / Aviators of the

Frontier League The Frontier League is a professional independent baseball league with teams in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States and Eastern Canada. Formed in 1993, it is the oldest currently running independent league in the United States. The le ...

Los Angeles Angels

In August 2013 he signed a minor league deal with the

. Rucinski was called up to the majors for the first time on July 10, 2014. He was designated for assignment on September 1, 2015.

Minnesota Twins

In December 2016, Rucinski signed a minor league contract with the Minnesota Twins. On September 6, 2017, Rucinski was released by the Twins.

Miami Marlins

On November 30, 2017, Rucinski signed a minor league contract with the Miami Marlins. He had his contract purchased on June 3, 2018. He elected free agency after the season.

NC Dinos

On November 29, 2018, Rucinski signed a one-year, $600,000 contract with the

of the

. On January 1, 2021, Rucinski re-signed with the Dinos on a one-year, $1.6 million contract. He posted a 15–10 record with a 3.17 ERA and 177 strikeouts over 178 ⅔ innings. On December 21, 2021, Rucinski re-signed with the Dinos to a $2 million deal, which tied for the second-most lucrative contract for a foreign player at the time of his signing. He became a free agent after the 2022 season.

Oakland Athletics

On December 21, 2022, Rucinski signed a one-year contract with the Oakland Athletics that contains a club option for the 2024 season.

References

External links

Ohio State Buckeyes bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rucinski, Drew 1988 births Living people Sportspeople from Neenah, Wisconsin Baseball players from Wisconsin Major League Baseball pitchers Los Angeles Angels players Minnesota Twins players Miami Marlins players Ohio State Buckeyes baseball players Arizona League Indians players Mahoning Valley Scrappers players Lake County Captains players Rockford RiverHawks players Inland Empire 66ers players Arkansas Travelers players Salt Lake Bees players Iowa Cubs players Rochester Red Wings players Rockford Aviators players New Orleans Baby Cakes players Las Vegas Aviators players NC Dinos players KBO League pitchers American expatriate baseball players in South Korea