Gilberto Celestino (born February 13, 1999) is a Dominican 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 ...

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 ...

for the

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 ...

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).

Career

Houston Astros

Celestino signed with the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

as an international free agent on July 2, 2015, for a $2.25 million

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

. He split the 2016 season between the DSL Astros and the

GCL Astros The Florida Complex League Astros are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Houston Astros, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to the 2021 season, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Astros. The team plays i ...

, hitting a combined .257/.365/.393/.758 with 2 home runs and 19 RBI. He spent the 2017 season with the

Greeneville Astros The Greeneville Astros were a Minor League Baseball team that played in the Rookie-level Appalachian League from 2004 to 2017. They represented the town of Greeneville, Tennessee, though Pioneer Park, their home stadium, was located in nearby T ...

, hitting .268/.331/.379/.709 with 4 home runs and 24 RBI.

Minnesota Twins

On July 27, 2018, Celestino and

Jorge Alcalá Jorge Luis Alcalá (born July 28, 1995) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher for the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball (MLB). Career Houston Astros Alcalá signed with the Houston Astros as an international free agent in December ...

were traded to the

in exchange for

Ryan Pressly Thomas Ryan Pressly (born December 15, 1988) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has also played in MLB for the Minnesota Twins. Originally selected by the Boston Red Sox in the ...

. Celestino split the 2018 season between the

Tri-City ValleyCats The Tri-City ValleyCats (often shortened to Cats) are a professional independent baseball team based in Troy, New York. The Tri-City name refers to the three nearby cities of Albany, Schenectady, and Troy which make up New York State's Capital D ...

Corpus Christi Hooks The Corpus Christi Hooks are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A affiliate of the Houston Astros. They are located in Corpus Christi, Texas, and are named for the city's association with fishing. The team is owned by ...

, and the

Elizabethton Twins The Elizabethton Twins were a Minor League Baseball team of the Appalachian League and a Rookie-level affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They were located in Elizabethton, Tennessee, and were named for their major league affiliate. The team playe ...

, hitting a combined .287/.341/.406/.747 with 5 home runs and 34 RBI. In 2019, Celestino split the season between the

Cedar Rapids Kernels The Cedar Rapids Kernels are Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and play their home games at Veterans Memorial Stadium. The Kernels are owned ...

and the

Fort Myers Miracle The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Fort Myers, Florida, and play their home games at the Lee County Sports Complex a ...

, hitting a combined .277/.349/.410/.759 with 10 home runs and 54 RBI. Celestino played for the

Dominican Republic national baseball team The Dominican Republic national baseball team (Spanish: ''Selección de béisbol de República Dominicana'') is the national baseball team of the Dominican Republic. The team has won the Baseball World Cup in 1948 and World Baseball Classic in 201 ...

at the 2019 WBSC Premier12. On November 20, 2019, Celestino was added to the Twins

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, and ...

. Celestino 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 ...

. On June 2, 2021, Celestino was promoted to the major leagues for the first time. He made his MLB debut that day as the starting center fielder against the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

. In the game, he went 0-for-2 before being subbed out for

Miguel Sanó Miguel Ángel Jean Sanó (born May 11, 1993) is a Dominican professional baseball first baseman and third baseman who is a free agent. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins. He made his MLB debut on July 2 ...

. On June 9, Celestino notched his first career hit, a single off of

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

reliever Brooks Kriske.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Celestino, Gilberto 1999 births Living people Cedar Rapids Kernels players Corpus Christi Hooks players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Dominican Republic national baseball team players Dominican Summer League Astros players Elizabethton Twins players Fort Myers Miracle players Gigantes del Cibao players Greeneville Astros players Gulf Coast Astros players Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Minnesota Twins players Tri-City ValleyCats players Sportspeople from Santo Domingo Wichita Wind Surge players 2019 WBSC Premier12 players