Emmanuel Miguel Rivera (born June 29, 1996) is a Puerto Rican

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

for the Arizona Diamondbacks 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 made his MLB debut in 2021 with the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

Career

Indios de Mayagüez

Rivera has played since 2016 with the Indios de Mayagüez, one of the teams that participates in Puerto Rico's winter league.

Kansas City Royals

Rivera was drafted by the

out of the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico in the 19th round, 579th overall, of the

2015 Major League Baseball draft The 2015 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft was held from June 8 through June 10, 2015, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2014 MLB season standings. As the Diamondbacks ...

. He made his professional debut with the

AZL Royals The Arizona Complex League Royals are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Kansas City Royals, 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 compos ...

, playing in 38 games with the team. In 2016, Rivera played for the rookie-level Burlington Royals, posting a .249/.317/.373 slash line in 58 games. The following year, he played for the Single-A

Lexington Legends The Lexington Legends are an American professional baseball team based in Lexington, Kentucky. They are a member of the South Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a "partner league" of Major League Baseball. The Legends have ...

, slashing .310/.364/.468 with 12 home runs and 72 RBI. In 2018, Rivera split the season between the High-A

Wilmington Blue Rocks The Wilmington Blue Rocks are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Wilmington, Delaware, and play their home games at Daniel S. Frawley Stadium. ...

and the AZL Royals, batting a cumulative .274/.326/.416 with 6 home runs and 63 RBI. For the 2019 season, Rivera played for the Double-A

Northwest Arkansas Naturals The Northwest Arkansas Naturals are a Minor League Baseball team based in Springdale, Arkansas, Springdale, Arkansas. The team is a member of the Texas League, and serves as the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. The ...

, logging a .258/.297/.345 slash line with 7 home runs and 57 RBI in 131 games. Rivera 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 ...

. He was assigned to the Triple-A

Omaha Storm Chasers The Omaha Storm Chasers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. They are located in Papillion, Nebraska, a suburb southwest of Omaha, and play their home games at Wer ...

to begin the 2021 season, and batted .282/.337/.593 with a career-high 14 home runs and 40 RBI in 44 games. On June 28, 2021, Rivera was selected to the 40-man roster and promoted to the major leagues for the first time. He made his MLB debut that day as the starting third baseman against the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

, and logged his first career hit in the game as well, a single off of Sox starter

Garrett Richards Garrett Thomas Richards (born May 27, 1988) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is currently a free agent. He has previously played in MLB for the Los Angeles Angels, San Diego Padres, Boston Red Sox and Texas Rangers. Amateur care ...

. He was placed on the injured list on June 30 with a left hamate break. He finished his rookie season appearing in 29 games for the Royals and hitting .256/.316/.333 with one home run, 5 RBI, and 2 stolen bases. In 2022, Rivera made 63 appearances for Kansas City, slashing .237/.284/.399 with 6 home runs and 22 RBI.

Arizona Diamondbacks

On August 1, 2022, the Royals traded Rivera to the Arizona Diamondbacks for pitcher Luke Weaver. He played in 39 games for the Diamondbacks down the stretch, hitting .227/.304/.424 with 6 home runs and 18 RBI. Rivera was optioned to the Triple-A Reno Aces to begin the 2023 season.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rivera, Emmanuel Living people 1996 births Arizona Diamondbacks players Arizona League Royals players Burlington Royals players Charlotte Stone Crabs players Indios de Mayagüez players Kansas City Royals players Lexington Legends players Major League Baseball players from Puerto Rico Major League Baseball third basemen Northwest Arkansas Naturals players Omaha Storm Chasers players Reno Aces players Sportspeople from Mayagüez, Puerto Rico Wilmington Blue Rocks players 2023 World Baseball Classic players