Esmerling de Jesús Vásquez (born November 7, 1983) is a Dominican former

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 ...

. He has 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

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The f ...

and

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

and in

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

(NPB) for the

Saitama Seibu Lions The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based north of Tokyo in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture. Before 1979, they were based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture in Kyushu. The team is owned by a subsidiary of Seibu Railway, wh ...

Career

Arizona Diamondbacks

Vásquez signed 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 ...

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

by the

. Vásquez played for the Double-A

Mobile BayBears The Mobile BayBears were a Minor League Baseball team based in Mobile, Alabama, United States. The team, which played in the Southern League, served as the Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres (1997–2006), Arizona Diamondbacks (2007–2 ...

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

. He started in all 29 games he played in and went 10-6 with a 2.99

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

. Following the season, the Diamondbacks named Vásquez as their minor league pitcher of the year. His contract was purchased on November 20, 2007. Vásquez was called up to the Diamondbacks on April 26, 2009, and made his Major League debut later that day. He was demoted to Triple A Reno on April 17, 2010 to make room for

Kris Benson Kristin James Benson (born November 7, 1974) is a former Major League Baseball starting pitcher who played for several teams between 1999 and 2010. A highly touted prospect, Benson was drafted first overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1996. H ...

but was recalled 2 days later after

Conor Jackson Conor Sims Jackson (born May 7, 1982) is an American former professional baseball first baseman and left fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 2005 and 2011 for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Oakland Athletics, and Boston Red Sox. H ...

was injured On Memorial Day, 2010, as a member of one of the worst bullpens in MLB history, Vasquez committed a balk in the bottom of the ninth against the Dodgers, allowing

Casey Blake William Casey Blake (born August 23, 1973) is an American former professional baseball third baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays, Minnesota Twins, Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, and Los Angeles Dodge ...

to score the winning run. The event was known as a "balk-off". In his career with the Diamondbacks, Vásquez went 5-10 with a 4.66 ERA in 141 games with a 1.496 WHIP

Minnesota Twins

Vásquez was claimed off waivers by the

on September 27, 2011. He did not pitch for the Twins that year. Vásquez spent most of 2012 with Triple-A

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

, where he went 9-6 with a 2.78 ERA in 31 games, 8 of them starts. Called up on September 1, Vásquez went 0-2 with a 5.68 in 6 starts for the Twins. On November 5, Vásquez signed a minor league deal with the Twins. On June 23, 2013, the Twins released Vásquez.

EDA Rhinos

Vasquez signed with the

EDA Rhinos EDA or Eda may refer to: Computing * Electronic design automation * Enterprise Desktop Alliance, a computer technology consortium * Enterprise digital assistant * Estimation of distribution algorithm * Event-driven architecture * Exploratory da ...

of 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 ...

for the 2014 season.

Saitama Seibu Lions

Vasquez signed with the

for the 2015 season.

Algodoneros de Unión Laguna

On July 19, 2018, Vasquez signed with the

Algodoneros de Unión Laguna The Algodoneros de Unión Laguna (English: Laguna Union Cotton Farmers) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Torreón, Coahuila. History Early years The team was established in 1940 under the name Algodoneros de Uni� ...

of the

Mexican Baseball 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 ...

Texas Rangers

On March 10, 2019, Vasquez signed a minor league deal with the Texas Rangers. He became a free agent following the 2019 season. On March 14, 2020, Vásquez re-signed to a minor league deal with the Rangers. He became a free agent on November 2, 2020.

References

External links

1983 births Living people Águilas de Mexicali players Algodoneros de Unión Laguna players Arizona Diamondbacks players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Japan Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Mexico Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Taiwan Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States EDA Rhinos players Estrellas Orientales players Frisco RoughRiders players Lancaster Barnstormers players Lancaster JetHawks players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Mexican League baseball pitchers Minnesota Twins players Missoula Osprey players Mobile BayBears players Nashville Sounds players Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Reno Aces players Rochester Red Wings players Saitama Seibu Lions players Scottsdale Scorpions players South Bend Silver Hawks players Tiburones de La Guaira players Tucson Sidewinders players Yakima Bears players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Venezuela {{DominicanRepublic-baseball-pitcher-stub