José Gregorio Osuna (born December 12, 1992) is a Venezuelan

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 ...

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 ...

and

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

for the

Tokyo Yakult Swallows The Tokyo Yakult Swallows () are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Shinjuku, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Yom ...

Nippon Professional Baseball 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 ...

(NPB). He has 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), ...

(MLB) for 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 ...

Career

Pittsburgh Pirates

Osuna signed with the

as an international free agent in December 2009. He made his professional debut with the Venezuelan Summer League Pirates, batting .251/.325/.465 in 64 contests. The next year, Osuna split the year between the

GCL Pirates The Florida Complex League Pirates are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Pirates. The team plays its h ...

and the Low-A

State College Spikes The State College Spikes are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in State College, Pennsylvania, and play their home games at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park on the campus of Pennsylvania State University. The ...

, accumulating a .328/.397/.505 slash line between the two teams. In 2012, he played for the Single-A

West Virginia Power The Charleston Dirty Birds are an American professional baseball team based in Charleston, West Virginia. They are a member of the South Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a partner league of Major League Baseball. The Dir ...

, logging a .280/.324/.454 batting line with career-highs in home runs (16) and RBI (72). In 2013, Osuna played for the High-A

Bradenton Marauders The Bradenton Marauders are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Bradenton, Florida, and play their home games at LECOM Park, which also serves as th ...

, slashing .244/.298/.357 with 8 home runs and 48 RBI. The next year, Osuna returned to Bradenton and improved upon the previous season, batting .296/.347/.458 with 10 home runs and 57 RBI. In 2015, Osuna split the season between Bradenton and the Double-A

Altoona Curve The Altoona Curve are a Minor League Baseball team based in Altoona, Pennsylvania, named after nearby Horseshoe Curve (but also alluding to the curveball, a type of pitch). The team plays in the Eastern League and is the Double-A affiliate of the ...

, hitting a cumulative .286/.329/.435 with 12 home runs and 81 RBI in 129 games between the two teams. He split the 2016 season between Altoona and the Triple-A

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory Field, which open ...

, posting a .279/.331/.457 slash line with 13 home runs and 69 RBI. The Pirates added him to their 40-man roster after the 2016 season. The Pirates promoted Osuna to the major leagues for the first time on April 18, 2017. His first major league

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

, a

triple Triple is used in several contexts to mean "threefold" or a " treble": Sports * Triple (baseball), a three-base hit * A basketball three-point field goal * A figure skating jump with three rotations * In bowling terms, three strikes in a row * ...

, came 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 ...

starter

CC Sabathia Carsten Charles Sabathia Jr. (born July 21, 1980) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily with the New York Yankees. He also played for the Cleveland Indians and Milwauke ...

on April 21. He finished his rookie season hitting .233/.269/.428 across 104 major league contests. In 2018, Osuna split the year between Indianapolis and Pittsburgh, slashing .226/.252/.396 with 3 home runs and 11 RBI in 51 games with the Pirates. In 2019, Osuna played in 95 games for the Pirates, posting a .264/.310/.456 slash line to go along with a career-high 10 home runs and 36 RBI. In 26 games for Pittsburgh in 2020, Osuna hit .205/.244/.397 with 4 home runs and 11 RBI. On November 20, 2020, Osuna was designated for assignment. He was released by the organization on November 23.

Tokyo Yakult Swallows

On November 26, 2020, Osuna announced on Instagram that he had signed with the

. On April 23, 2021, Osuna made his NPB debut. After the 2021 season, Osuna signed a three-year contract extension with the Swallows worth $5.1 million.

References

External links

* *
Career statistics - NPB.jp
{{DEFAULTSORT:Osuna, Jose 1992 births Altoona Curve players Bradenton Marauders players Bravos de Margarita players Gulf Coast Pirates players Indianapolis Indians players People from Trujillo (state) Living people Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball left fielders Major League Baseball players from Venezuela Major League Baseball right fielders Navegantes del Magallanes players Pittsburgh Pirates players State College Spikes players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States Venezuelan Summer League Pirates players West Virginia Power players Tokyo Yakult Swallows players