Jesús Miguel Flores (born October 26, 1984) is a Venezuelan 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 ...

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

. He previously 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), ...

with the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

Professional career

New York Mets

Flores was signed by 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 ...

as an amateur free agent on March 12, 2002. In parts of three minor league seasons, Flores hit .257 (230-for-895) with 33 home runs and 140 RBI in 250

games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Basebal ...

. In 2004, he made the

Gulf Coast League The Florida Complex League (FCL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in Florida, United States. Before 2021, it was known as the Gulf Coast League (GCL). Together with the Arizona Complex League (ACL), it forms the lo ...

All-Star team. In 2006, he had a terrific minor league season with the Mets' A+ team, St. Lucie. By the end of the season, he was rated by ''

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...

'' as the Mets top catching prospect after hitting .266 with a .335

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...

and a .487

slugging average In baseball statistics, slugging percentage (SLG) is a measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats, through the following formula, where ''AB'' is the number of at bats for a given player, a ...

. He also hit 32 doubles and tied for the

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

lead with 21

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s, making the Florida State League Mid-Season and Post-Season All-Star teams.

Washington Nationals

Flores, never having played above A-ball, was obtained by the

in the 2006 Rule 5 draft on December 7, 2006. His major league debut with Washington was on April 4, 2007, and his first start on April 19. Three days later, on April 19, he made his second start, and collected his first hits: he went 2-for-3 with a walk, two doubles and two RBIs. On September 4, 2007, Flores hit a 2 RBI, walk-off single to beat the

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The franc ...

. During the 2007–08 offseason, he played for

Navegantes del Magallanes The Navegantes del Magallanes (Magellan Navigators), commonly known as Magallanes, are a baseball team in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. Based in Valencia, Magallanes has won 13 LVBP championships and two (2) Caribbean Series. It wa ...

in the

Venezuelan Professional Baseball League The Venezuelan Professional Baseball League or Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional (LVBP) is the professional baseball league in Venezuela. The league's champion takes part in the Caribbean Series each year. History Early years Baseball exp ...

. As the 2008 season opened, Flores was the starting catcher for the Nationals. His season would be over on September 3, 2008 after being injured on a collision with

Chase Utley Chase Cameron Utley (born December 17, 1978), nicknamed "The Man" and "Silver Fox", is an American former professional baseball second baseman who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 16 seasons, primarily for the Philadelphia Phillies. He ...

when Utley attempted to steal home. On July 20, 2008, Flores collected five hits, all singles, in a 15–6 Nationals victory over the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

. After 26 games in 2009, Flores was placed on the disabled list with a stress fracture in his shoulder. General Manager

Mike Rizzo Michael Rizzo, is an American DJ, record producer and remixer from New York City, active since the early 1990s. He is well known for working with various artists such as Jennifer Green and Sun, all of whom scored hits on both '' Billboard's Ho ...

indicated that he would be out a minimum of three months, and possibly for the rest of the season. He wound up missing the entire 2010 season due to the injury and returned to play 30 games in 2011 and 83 games in 2012.

Los Angeles Dodgers

On January 16, 2013, Flores and 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 ...

agreed to a minor league deal with an invite to spring training. The Dodgers assigned him to the AAA

Albuquerque Isotopes The Albuquerque Isotopes are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. They play home games at Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at an el ...

. In 22 games for the Isotopes, he hit only .164. He was released on May 23.

Tampa Bay Rays

He was signed to a minor league contract by 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 ...

on June 4, 2013.

Kansas City Royals

Flores was signed to a minor league contract by 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 ...

on March 2, 2014. He was released on July 23, 2014.

Atlanta Braves

On January 30, 2015, Flores signed a minor league deal with the

, that included an invitation to spring training. He was released on April 3.

Miami Marlins

On May 2, 2015, the Marlins announced that they had signed Flores to a minor league deal. He was released on July 18, 2015.

Team Venezuela

In the

2017 World Baseball Classic The 2017 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, composed of 16 competing nations, held from March 6 to March 22, 2017. It was the fourth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. The first-round hosts ...

, he joined Team Venezuela due to

Salvador Perez Salvador, meaning "salvation" (or "saviour") in Catalan, Spanish, and Portuguese may refer to: * Salvador (name) Arts, entertainment, and media Music *Salvador (band), a Christian band that plays both English and Spanish music ** ''Salvador'' ( ...

sustaining an injury.

References

External links

Baseball AmericaHot FootSportsNet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Flores, Jesus 1984 births Living people Albuquerque Isotopes players Brooklyn Cyclones players Columbus Clippers players Durham Bulls players Gulf Coast Mets players Hagerstown Suns players Harrisburg Senators players Major League Baseball catchers Major League Baseball players from Venezuela Navegantes del Magallanes players Omaha Storm Chasers players People from Carúpano Sportspeople from Sucre (state) St. Lucie Mets players Syracuse Chiefs players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States Washington Nationals players 2017 World Baseball Classic players