Fernando Cortez (born October 29, 1981 in

Stockton, California Stockton is a city in and the county seat of San Joaquin County, California, San Joaquin County in the Central Valley (California), Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. Stockton was founded by Carlos Maria Weber in 1849 after he acquir ...

) is a former Major League Baseball

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

. His last MLB team was the Kansas City Royals.

Career

Tampa Bay Rays

Cortez was selected by the

Tampa Bay Devil 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 ve ...

in the 9th round of the 2001 Major League Baseball Draft. He began his professional career that year for the

Hudson Valley Renegades Hudson may refer to: People * Hudson (given name) * Hudson (surname) * Henry Hudson, English explorer * Hudson (footballer, born 1986), Hudson Fernando Tobias de Carvalho, Brazilian football right-back * Hudson (footballer, born 1988), Hudson R ...

. He received a promotion to the

Charleston RiverDogs The Charleston RiverDogs are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League. They are located in Charleston, South Carolina, and are the Single-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. The RiverDogs' home stadium is Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park. Hi ...

in 2002, where he would spend the season. In 2003, he played for the high-A

Bakersfield Blaze The Bakersfield Blaze were a minor league baseball team in Bakersfield, California. They played in the Class A – Advanced California League. They played their home games at Sam Lynn Ballpark. Opened in 1941, the stadium is well known for facin ...

and the AA Orlando Rays. In 2004, he remained in AA for the

Montgomery Biscuits The Montgomery Biscuits are a Minor League Baseball team based in Montgomery, Alabama. They are the Double-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays and play in the Southern League. The team was founded in Orlando, Florida, in 1973 as the Orlando Twins ...

. He began 2005 in Montgomery before receiving a promotion to the AAA

Durham Bulls The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened ...

.He saw his first Major League action with the Devil Rays in , serving as a

utility infielder In baseball, a utility player is a player who typically does not have the offensive abilities to justify a regular starting role on the team but is capable of playing more than one defensive position. These players are able to give the various s ...

in his limited time with the club after making his debut on July 5, 2005.

Kansas City Royals

On June 20, , Cortez, along with

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 ...

Joey Gathright Joey Renard Gathright (born April 27, 1981) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Kansas City Royals, Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox. He was born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Early life Gathright attended ...

, was traded to Kansas City for

left-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subject ...

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 ...

J.P. Howell. Cortez was assigned to the roster of the Triple-A

Omaha Royals Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest c ...

and did not play in the majors with Kansas City in 2006. In , Cortez saw limited action with Kansas City, appearing in eight games. His 2007 campaign with the Royals resulted in a .286 batting average four hits in 14 at-bats, with one RBI and three runs scored. Kansas City designated him for assignment on July 11.

Chicago White Sox

Cortez signed with the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

for the season and was assigned to the AAA

Charlotte Knights The Charlotte Knights are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. They are located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and play their home games at Truist Field, which opened in 20 ...

. He played in 104 games in Charlotte, hitting .262/.296/.341 to go along with 93 hits. He became a free agent after the season.

Second Stint with Tampa Bay Rays

On April 20, 2009, Cortez signed a minor league contract with 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) American League East, East division. Since its inception ...

and was assigned to the AA Montgomery Biscuits. He spent the entire year in Montgomery and elected free agency on November 9, 2009. On June 5, 2010, Cortez resigned with the Rays organization.

Second Stint with Chicago White Sox

On June 29, 2010, Cortez signed with the Chicago White Sox organization and was assigned to the Charlotte Knights. On November 6, 2010, Cortez elected free agency.

Somerset Patriots

Cortez 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 w ...

of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball for the 2011 season. Cortez played in 113 games for Somerset in 2011, carrying a .290/.341/.371 batting line and 125 hits. He became a free agent at seasons end.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cortez, Fernando Kansas City Royals players Tampa Bay Devil Rays players 1981 births Living people Major League Baseball infielders Baseball players from California Grossmont Griffins baseball players American people of Puerto Rican descent Hudson Valley Renegades players Charleston RiverDogs players Orlando Rays players Bakersfield Blaze players Montgomery Biscuits players Durham Bulls players Omaha Royals players Charlotte Knights players Newark Bears players Birmingham Barons players Somerset Patriots players