Efraín Nieves (born November 15, 1989) is a

Puerto Rica Puerto, a Spanish word meaning ''seaport'', may refer to: Places *El Puerto de Santa María, Andalusia, Spain *Puerto, a seaport town in Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines *Puerto Colombia, Colombia *Puerto Cumarebo, Venezuela *Puerto Galera, Orient ...

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 ...

who is a free agent. He has played in the

Chinese Professional Baseball League The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL; ) is the top-tier professional baseball league in Taiwan. The league was established in 1989 and played the first season in 1990. CPBL eventually absorbed the competing Taiwan Major League in 20 ...

(CPBL) for the

Lamigo Monkeys The Rakuten Monkeys (), formerly First Financial Holdings Agan (, abbreviated ), La New Bears () and then the Lamigo Monkeys (), are a professional baseball team in the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) in Taiwan. Owned and administer ...

Career

Milwaukee Brewers

Nieves attended the Puerto Rico Baseball Academy. The

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

drafted Nieves in the seventh round of the

2007 Major League Baseball draft The 2007 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players and was held on June 7, 2007 and June 8, 2007. The first day session of the draft included the f ...

. After playing rookie ball in 2007 and 2008, Nieves was promoted to the Single-A

Wisconsin Timber Rattlers The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Grand Chute, Wisconsin, a town on the outskirts of Appleton, Wisconsin, Appleton in the Fox ...

for the 2009 season. He would spend the entire 2010 season for the Timber Rattlers as well, pitching to a 5.56 ERA with 53 strikeouts and 41 walks. Nieves was promoted to the advanced Single-A

Brevard County Manatees The Brevard County Manatees were a minor league baseball team of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League from 1994 to 2016. They were based in Viera, Florida, and played their home games at Space Coast Stadium. The team left Brevard County afte ...

in 2011, where he spent the season. On March 26, 2012, Nieves was released by the Brewers.

Detroit Tigers

On April 24, 2012, Nieves signed a minor league contract with the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

organization. Nieves spent the year with the low Single-A

Connecticut Tigers The Norwich Sea Unicorns are a baseball team located in Norwich, Connecticut. From 2010 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's New York–Penn League (NYPL) as the Class A Short Season affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They play th ...

and re-signed with the Tigers on a minor league contract on November 26.

Toronto Blue Jays

On December 6, 2012, Nieves was selected by 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 ...

in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 Draft. Nieves spent the 2013 season with the Single-A

Lansing Lugnuts The Lansing Lugnuts are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. They are located in Lansing, Michigan, and play their home games at Jackson Field (Lansing), Jackson Field. The Midwe ...

and the advanced Single-A

Dunedin Blue Jays The Dunedin Blue Jays are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and are the Single-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays Major League Baseball club. They are located in Dunedin, Florida, and play their home games at TD Ballpark, ...

. Nieves remained in Dunedin in 2014 and became a free agent after the season.

Texas Rangers

On November 20, 2014, Nieves signed a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers organization. Nieves was released before the season on March 4, 2015.

Evansville Otters

Nieves signed with the

Evansville Otters The Evansville Otters are a professional baseball team based in Evansville, Indiana. They compete in the West Division of the independent Frontier League. Since their establishment in 1995, the Otters have played at historic Bosse Field, which o ...

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 ...

following his release from the Rangers organization. In his first Frontier League start on May 20, 2015, Nieves pitched six innings of one hit, no runs ball with five strikeouts.

Somerset Patriots

On April 9, 2016, Nieves signed with the

Somerset Patriots The Somerset Patriots are an American Minor League Baseball team based in Bridgewater Township, New Jersey, that is the Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They compete in the Eastern League, known as the Double-A Northeast in 2021, and ...

of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league based in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States. The Atlantic League's ...

Lamigo Monkeys

On May 28, 2016, Nieves signed with the

of the

Somerset Patriots (second stint)

On June 22, 2017, Nieves signed with the Somerset Patriots of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. Nieves pitched to a 3.95 ERA with 63 strikeouts in 73.0 innings pitched across 16 games.

International career

Nieves played for the

Puerto Rican national baseball team The Puerto Rico national baseball team ( es, Selección de béisbol de Puerto Rico) is the national baseball team of Puerto Rico. The men's senior team is currently ranked 13th in the world. Puerto Rico is the incumbent Baseball at the 2019 Pan ...

in the

2013 World Baseball Classic The 2013 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, held from March 2 to March 19, 2013. This was the third iteration of the WBC, following the two previous tournaments, held in 2006 and 2009. Unlike ...

. He was selected to Puerto Rico's roster for the

2019 Pan American Games The 2019 Pan American Games ( es, Juegos Panamericanos de 2019, links=no), officially the XVIII Pan American Games and commonly known as the Lima 2019 Pan-Am Games or Lima 2019 ( qu, Limaq 2019), were a multi-sport event governed by the Panam Spo ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nieves, Efrain 1989 births Living people Sportspeople from Caguas, Puerto Rico Baseball pitchers Baseball players at the 2019 Pan American Games Central American and Caribbean Games gold medalists for Puerto Rico Pan American Games gold medalists for Puerto Rico Pan American Games medalists in baseball Puerto Rican baseball players 2013 World Baseball Classic players Arizona League Brewers players Helena Brewers players Lobos de Arecibo players Wisconsin Timber Rattlers players Senadores de San Juan players Brevard County Manatees players Criollos de Caguas players Connecticut Tigers players Lansing Lugnuts players Dunedin Blue Jays players Lamigo Monkeys players Competitors at the 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in baseball Medalists at the 2019 Pan American Games Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente pitchers Puerto Rican expatriate baseball players in Taiwan Atenienses de Manatí (baseball) players Cangrejeros de Santurce (baseball) players Puerto Rican expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Somerset Patriots players Tiburones de Aguadilla players