José Rafael Ruiz Aparicio (born October 21, 1994) 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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

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

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 ...

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 previously played for the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

Career

San Diego Padres

Ruiz signed with the

as an international free agent in July 2011. He started his career as a

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...

, before converting into a pitcher during the 2016 season. The Padres added him to their 40-man roster after the 2016 season. Ruiz started 2017 with the

Lake Elsinore Storm The Lake Elsinore Storm are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The Storm plays their home games at Lake Elsinore Diamond (Pete Lehr Field), which opened in 1994; the park s ...

and was called up to the Padres on July 24. In his major league debut, Ruiz pitched a scoreless 9th, striking out 1 and walking 1. He struck out

Yoenis Céspedes Yoenis Céspedes Milanés (born October 18, 1985), nicknamed "La Potencia" (The Power), is a Cuban-born professional baseball outfielder. He made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut on March 28, 2012, for the Oakland Athletics, and has also p ...

for his first strikeout. Ruiz was sent back down to

Lake Elsinore Lake Elsinore is a natural freshwater lake in Riverside County, California, located east of the Santa Ana Mountains and fed by the San Jacinto River. Originally named ''Laguna Grande'' by Spanish explorers, it was renamed for the town of Elsino ...

the following day. On December 15, 2017, Ruiz was designated for assignment by the Padres.

Chicago White Sox

He was claimed off waivers by the

on December 22, 2017. He began 2018 with the

Winston-Salem Dash The Winston-Salem Dash are a Minor League Baseball team in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. They are a High-A team in the South Atlantic League and have been a farm team of the Chicago White Sox since 1997. The Dash began playing their home games a ...

. On September 4, 2018, he was called up to the major leagues. With the 2020 Chicago White Sox, Ruiz appeared in 5 games, compiling a 0-0 record with 2.25 ERA and 5 strikeouts in four innings pitched. In 2021, Ruiz had a great season despite a record of 1-3. He had an ERA of 3.05 in 59 games while pitching in 65 innings and striking out 63 batters. On January 13, 2023, Ruiz agreed to a one-year, $925K contract with the White Sox, avoiding salary arbitration.

References

External links

1994 births Living people Arizona League Padres players Birmingham Barons players Chicago White Sox players Dominican Summer League Padres players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Eugene Emeralds players Fort Wayne TinCaps players Lake Elsinore Storm players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Venezuela Navegantes del Magallanes players People from Carabobo San Diego Padres players Tri-City Dust Devils players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States Winston-Salem Dash players Yaquis de Obregón players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Mexico 2023 World Baseball Classic players {{Venezuela-baseball-bio-stub