Eduardo Avila Gamboa (born December 21, 1984) 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

Mariachis de Guadalajara The Mariachis de Guadalajara (English language, English: Guadalajara Mariachis) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Zapopan, Jalisco. Their home ballpark is Estadio de Béisbol Charros de Jalisco y Atletismo, Estadio Pan ...

of the

Mexican League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

. He 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

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) East division. Since its inception, the team's home v ...

. He is a

knuckleball A knuckleball or knuckler is a baseball pitch thrown to minimize the spin of the ball in flight, causing an erratic, unpredictable motion. The air flow over a seam of the ball causes the ball to change from laminar to turbulent flow. This cha ...

pitcher.

Career

Gamboa attended the

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The inst ...

Baltimore Orioles

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) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

selected Gamboa in the 21st round of the

2008 MLB Draft The 2008 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft continued Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players, and was held on June 5 and 6, 2008. First round selections ;Key Supplemental first rou ...

. He made his professional debut with the rookie ball

Bluefield Orioles Bluefield may refer to: *Bluefield, Virginia, US *Bluefield, West Virginia, US *Nvidia BlueField, a line of computer hardware See also *Bluefields Bluefields is the capital of the South Caribbean Autonomous Region in Nicaragua. It was also the ...

. Gamboa split the 2009 season between three affiliates, the Single-A

Delmarva Shorebirds The Delmarva Shorebirds are a Minor League Baseball team based in Salisbury, Maryland. They are members of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. Their home games are played at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium. The Shor ...

, the High-A

Frederick Keys The Frederick Keys are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. The Keys are based in Frederick, Maryland. The franchise is named for "Star-Spangled Banner" writer Francis Scott Key, a native of Frederick County. A new team masc ...

, and the Double-A Bowie Baysox, accumulating an excellent 11-0 record and 1.08 ERA with 75 strikeouts in 39 games between the three clubs. He spent the 2010 season in Bowie, pitching to a 7-5 record and 3.75 ERA in 98.1 innings pitched. He spent the bulk of the 2011 season in Bowie as well, appearing in 2 games for Aberdeen, recording a 2-6 record and 2.90 ERA between the two teams. Gamboa reached Triple-A for the first time in 2012 with the

Norfolk Tides The Norfolk Tides are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. They are located in Norfolk, Virginia, and are named in nautical reference to the city's location on the Chesapea ...

, also playing in Bowie and Frederick, accumulating a 10-5 record and 3.61 ERA with 86 strikeouts in 29 games. He split the 2013 season between Norfolk and Bowie, registering a 6-11 record and 4.43 ERA in 25 appearances. The Orioles added Gamboa to their

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, an ...

on November 20, 2013. but non-tendered him on December 2, making him a free agent. On January 7, 2014, Gamboa re-signed with the Orioles organization on a minor league contract. Gamboa was handed a 50-game suspension for testing positive for "exogenous testosterone," a performance-enhancing substance in violation of the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program on June 13, 2014. He became a free agent after the 2014 season. On December 3, 2014, Gamboa signed a major league contract with the Orioles and was added to the 40-man roster. Gamboa was promoted to the Orioles when Wesley Wright was placed on the disabled list on April 11, 2015. Assigned uniform number 68, he was optioned back to the

without appearing in any Orioles games two days later on April 13, 2015 when David Lough was reinstated from the disabled list. On August 25, 2015, Gamboa was outrighted off of the 40-man roster. He elected free agency on November 6, 2015.

Tampa Bay Rays

Gamboa signed a minor league deal with the

in January 2016. They promoted him to the major leagues on September 1. He made his major league debut against the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

on September 2. He was designated for assignment on February 14, 2017.

Texas Rangers

On February 14, 2017, the same day as being designated for assignment from the Rays, Gamboa was traded to the Texas Rangers for a player to be named later or cash considerations. On June 22, 2017, Gamboa was designated for assignment by the Rangers. He was assigned outright to 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 ...

but rejected the outright assignment and elected free agency.

Los Angeles Dodgers

On June 30, 2017, Gamboa signed a minor league deal with the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

. He made six starts for the Triple-A

Oklahoma City Dodgers The Oklahoma City Dodgers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and play their home games at Chickasaw Bricktown Ba ...

and three starts (and one relief appearance) for the Double-A Tulsa Drillers. On November 6, 2017, Gamboa elected free agency.

Baltimore Orioles (second stint)

On January 19, 2018, Gamboa signed a minor league deal with the

. He elected free agency on November 2, 2018.

Sultanes de Monterrey

On March 21, 2019, Gamboa signed with the Sultanes de Monterrey of the

. Gamboa recorded a 4.38 ERA in 9 games in his first season for Monterrey. Gamboa did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the LMB 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 identi ...

. Gamboa struggled to an 0-3 record and 7.20 ERA in 4 starts the following season and was released on July 20, 2021.http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?t=l_trn&lid=125 However, he later re-signed with the team on July 30, 2021.Eddie Gamboa Stats, Highlights, Bio , MiLB.com Stats , The Official Site of Minor League Baseball
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Mariachis de Guadalajara

On June 15, 2022, Gamboa was loaned to the

of the

References

External links

UC Davis Aggies bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gamboa, Eddie Living people 1984 births American baseball players of Mexican descent American expatriate baseball players in Mexico American sportspeople in doping cases Baseball players from Merced, California Baseball players suspended for drug offenses Major League Baseball pitchers Tampa Bay Rays players UC Davis Aggies baseball players Bluefield Orioles players Delmarva Shorebirds players Frederick Keys players Bowie Baysox players Phoenix Desert Dogs players Aberdeen IronBirds players Mayos de Navojoa players Norfolk Tides players Durham Bulls players Round Rock Express players Tulsa Drillers players Oklahoma City Dodgers players Naranjeros de Hermosillo players Sultanes de Monterrey players Eau Claire Express players