Jhony Rafael Brito (born February 17, 1998) is a Dominican

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 ...

for the San Diego Padres of

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). He has previously played in MLB for the

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 ...

Career

New York Yankees

Brito signed with the

as an international free agent on November 9, 2015. He made his professional debut in 2016 with the Dominican Summer League Yankees. Brito spent the 2017 season with the Low-A Staten Island Yankees, making three scoreless starts and with eight

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

s He underwent

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, colloquially known as Tommy John surgery (TJS), is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's bo ...

later that season, ending his year and causing him to miss the entirety of the 2018 season as well. He returned in 2019 to play with the Single-A

Charleston River Dogs 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. Hist ...

, appearing in 22 games (9 starts) and posting a 6–4

win–loss record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...

and 3.58

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA) with 79 strikeouts and two saves in

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

. Brito 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 ...

. In 2021 he split the year between the High-A Hudson Valley Renegades and Double-A Somerset Patriots, making 22 starts in total and registering a 7–7 record and 3.55 ERA with 118 strikeouts in innings pitched. Brito spent the 2022 season with Somerset and the Triple-A

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (often abbreviated to SWB RailRiders) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They are located in Moosic, Pen ...

, pitching to a cumulative 11–4 record and 2.96 ERA with 91 strikeouts in innings across 26 games (23 starts). On November 10, 2022, the Yankees selected Brito to the 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. Brito was initially optioned to the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to begin the 2023 season. However, after

Luis Severino Luis Severino (born February 20, 1994) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). Severino signed with the Yankees as an international free agent in 2011, and made his MLB debut in 2015. ...

suffered a lat injury, Brito was added to the major league rotation to begin the year. He made his major league debut on April 2. On May 20, Brito was optioned to Triple-A Scranton to make space on the roster for Severino's return.

San Diego Padres

On December 6, 2023, the Yankees traded Brito, Michael King, Drew Thorpe, Randy Vásquez, and

Kyle Higashioka Kyle Harris Higashioka (born April 20, 1990) is an American professional baseball catcher for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He was drafted in the seventh round of the 2008 MLB draft, and made his MLB debut in 2017. Career ...

to the San Diego Padres for

Juan Soto Juan José Soto Pacheco (born October 25, 1998) is a Dominican professional baseball outfielder for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Washington Nationals. Soto signed with the Nation ...

and

Trent Grisham Trenton Marcus Grisham ('' né'' Clark; born November 1, 1996) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Milwaukee Brewers, who selected him in the first ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brito, Jhony 1998 births Living people Charleston RiverDogs players Dominican Summer League Yankees players El Paso Chihuahuas players Gulf Coast Yankees players Hudson Valley Renegades players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic New York Yankees players San Diego Padres players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders players Somerset Patriots players Sportspeople from Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic Staten Island Yankees players Toros del Este players