Elmer Dessens Jusaino eh-SENZ(born January 13, 1971) is a Mexican former professional

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 ...

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 ...

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(MLB).

Personal life

Elmer Dessens was born on January 13, 1971, in

Hermosillo, Mexico Hermosillo (), formerly called Pitic (as in ''Santísima Trinidad del Pitic'' and ''Presidio del Pitic''), is a city located in the center of the northwestern Mexican state of Sonora. It is the municipal seat of the Hermosillo municipality, the ...

. At age 10, he worked as a newspaper boy. Dessens graduated from Carrera Technical High School. He is married to Lorenia and has three sons, Elmer Jr., Erick, Edward Dessens enjoys fishing and is a

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fan.

Baseball career

Pittsburgh Pirates

Dessens was signed as an amateur

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 ...

by the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

in . He made his major league debut with the Pirates in and pitched with them until .

Yomiuri Giants

The Pirates released him at the end of

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

in . He pitched that season for the

Yomiuri Giants The are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. They ...

of the

Nippon Professional Baseball League 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 ...

in Japan.

Cincinnati Reds

Dessens returned to the major leagues in with the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

and pitched for them for three seasons.

Arizona Diamondbacks

During the 2002–03 offseason, Dessens was involved in a four-team trade that sent him to 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 ...

Los Angeles Dodgers

Dessens stayed with the Diamondbacks until August , when 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 ...

acquired him for a minor leaguer to bolster their bullpen for the stretch run. That October, Dessens pitched in the postseason for the first and, to date, last time, appearing in one game during the Dodgers'

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loss to the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

. Dessens pitched one more season for the Dodgers, then became a free agent in the offseason.

Kansas City Royals

Prior to the 2006 season, Dessens signed 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 ...

Second Stint with Dodgers

In July, the Dodgers reacquired Dessens from the Royals for pitcher

Odalis Pérez Odalis Amadol Pérez (June 11, 1977 – March 10, 2022) was a Dominican professional baseball starting pitcher. He played with the Atlanta Braves (–), the Los Angeles Dodgers (–), the Kansas City Royals (2006–), and the Washington Nationa ...

and two minor leaguers, again to bolster their bullpen. While the Dodgers did win the wild card that season, Dessens did not appear as the Dodgers were swept in the

to the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

Milwaukee Brewers

In March 2007, Dessens was traded from the Dodgers to 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 ...

for reserve

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

Brady Clark Brady William Clark (born April 18, 1973) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. Brady is a class of 1991 graduate of Sunset High School in Beaverton, Oregon and 1996 graduate of the University of San Diego, where he played college bas ...

and cash.

Colorado Rockies

In early August he was released by the Brewers, but a few days later he signed a minor league deal with the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

. He started 5 games for the Rockies, going 1–1 with a 7.58

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 ...

. He became a free agent at the end of the season.

Second Stint with Pirates

In January 2008, Dessens signed a minor league contract with the

, but was released during

Diablos Rojos del Mexico

He then spent most of the 2008 season in 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 ...

with the

Diablos Rojos del México The Diablos Rojos del Mexico (English: Mexico Red Devils) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Mexico City, Mexico. The team was founded in 1940 by Salvador Lutteroth and Ernesto Carmona. The Diablos Rojos play their hom ...

Atlanta Braves

After pitching (and winning) the final game of the league championship against the

Sultanes de Monterrey The Sultanes de Monterrey ( en, Monterrey Sultans) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Monterrey, Mexico. They compete in the Northern Division. The team also joined the Mexican Pacific League for the 2019–20 season f ...

, he signed a major league contract with the Atlanta Braves in August. After the season, Dessens again became a free agent.

New York Mets

In February , Dessens signed a minor league deal with the New York Mets. Dessens made his Mets debut on June 23, 2009, against the St. Louis Cardinals. He was designated for assignment on July 30. He had his contract purchased on August 6, 2009, when

Jon Niese Jonathon Joseph Niese (born October 27, 1986) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets and Pittsburgh Pirates. Early life Niese was born to Jeffery and Annette Niese in L ...

was placed on the 60-day

disabled list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

. In December 2009, Dessens signed a minor league contract with the New York Mets for the 2010 season.

San Francisco Giants

On February 8, 2011, it was reported that Dessens had signed a minor league deal with the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

that included an invitation to spring training. However, on February 14, it was reported that the deal fell through.

Post Playing

He is currently an assistant pitching coach for the

Arizona League Reds The Arizona Complex League Reds are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Goodyear Ballpark in Goodyear, Arizona. The team is composed ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dessens, Elmer 1971 births 2006 World Baseball Classic players 2009 World Baseball Classic players Arizona Diamondbacks players Atlanta Braves players Baseball players from Sonora Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Carolina Mudcats players Calgary Cannons players Cincinnati Reds players Colorado Rockies players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Kansas City Royals players Living people Las Vegas 51s players Los Angeles Dodgers players Louisville RiverBats players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Mexico Mexican expatriate baseball players in Canada Mexican expatriate baseball players in Japan Mexican expatriate baseball players in the United States Mexican people of German descent Milwaukee Brewers players Nashville Sounds players New York Mets players Sportspeople from Hermosillo Pittsburgh Pirates players Yomiuri Giants players