Junior Osvaldo Lake (born March 27, 1990) 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 ...

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

Toros de Tijuana The Toros de Tijuana (or Tijuana Bulls) are a Mexican Baseball team based in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. They are members of the Mexican Baseball League and play their home games at Estadio Chevron. Team history Original Attempt The fran ...

of the Mexican League, who also plays winter ball for the Leones del Escogido of the Dominican Professional Baseball League. He signed as an international free agent with the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

in 2007 and made his

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) debut with them in 2013. He has also played in MLB for 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 ...

and

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

Professional career

Chicago Cubs

On February 13, 2007, he was signed as an international free agent. He started playing for the DSL Cubs at the age of 17 batting .274 with 3 home runs. He then played for the Arizona League Cubs batting .286 with 2 home runs. In 2009, he went to the

Peoria Chiefs The Peoria Chiefs are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. The team was established in 1983 as the Peoria Suns. They are located in Peoria, Illinois, and are named for the Peori ...

batting .248 with 7 home runs. Lake was added to the Cubs 40-man roster on November 18, 2011. Junior Lake of the Chicago Cubs 2014

Lake suffered a stress fracture in a rib in

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

in 2013. He began the season in the minors. The Cubs promoted him to the major leagues on July 19 after

Brian Bogusevic Brian Thomas Bogusevic ( Serbian Latin: Brian Bogušević; born February 18, 1984) is an American professional baseball former outfielder and broadcaster. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, Chicago Cubs, and Philadel ...

was injured and he was batting .295. Lake went 3-for-4 with a double and a stolen base in his debut. In his first seven games, Lake had 15 hits, tied for the third most by any major league player since 1900. He batted .484 with 2 home runs and 5 runs batted in over this stretch. With the return of

David DeJesus David Christopher DeJesus (; born December 20, 1979) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals, Oakland Athletics, Chicago Cubs, Washington Nationals, Tampa Bay ...

on July 24 and the departure of

Alfonso Soriano Alfonso Guilleard Soriano (born January 7, 1976) is a Dominican former professional baseball left fielder and second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, Texas Rangers, Washington Nationals, and Chicago Cu ...

, Lake assumed the starting role of left field. On August 1, 2013, Lake had the first multi-homer game of his career when he hit two solo home runs in a 6-4 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers at Wrigley Field. On September 6, 2013, he hit the first grand slam of his career in the first inning off Kyle Lohse of the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

. Lake finished the 2013 campaign batting .284 in 64 games with 6 homers, 16 RBIs, and 4 stolen bases. Lake started at left field on Opening Day in 2014. He hit his 7th and 8th home runs of the season in a game against the Miami Marlins on June 7, it was his second career multi-homerun game. After hitting just .216 with 9 home runs for the Cubs in 2014, Lake was optioned back to the Triple-A

Iowa Cubs The Iowa Cubs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in Des Moines, Iowa, and are named for their Major League Baseball (MLB) affiliate. The ...

on August 16. Lake spent the majority of the 2015 season in Triple-A for the Cubs. He was called up and played in 21 games for the Cubs due to numerous injuries in the outfield.

Baltimore Orioles

On July 31, 2015, Lake was traded to the

in exchange for Tommy Hunter. Lake appeared in 8 games for the Orioles, batting .136. On December 10, Lake was designated for assignment by Baltimore.

Toronto Blue Jays

On December 18, 2015, Lake was claimed off waivers by the

. Lake was added to their active roster on June 24, 2016. He was designated for assignment on July 25 after

José Bautista José Antonio Bautista Santos (born October 19, 1980), nicknamed "Joey Bats", is a Dominican special advisor for the general manager of the Leones del Escogido and former professional baseball right fielder and third baseman. He played in Majo ...

returned from the disabled list. He cleared waivers, and was outrighted to the Triple-A

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...

on July 31. Lake was brought up to the Blue Jays on August 10 when Bautista was once again placed on the disabled list. On August 16, Lake was designated for assignment after the Blue Jays activated

Ezequiel Carrera Ezequiel Manuel Carrera Reyes (born June 11, 1987) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians, Philadelphia Phillies, Detroit Tigers, and Toronto Blue Jays. Profess ...

. Lake played in 22 games for the Blue Jays in 2016, hitting .200 with one home run and two RBI. He elected free agency following the season on November 7.

Boston Red Sox

On December 9, 2016, Lake signed a minor league contract with the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

. He was released on May 1, 2017.

Bravos de León

On June 20, 2017, Lake signed with the

Bravos de León The Bravos de León (English: León Braves) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in León, Guanajuato, Mexico. History Cachorros de León (1979–80) Mexican League baseball in León began in 1979 when the Alijador ...

of the Mexican League.

Seattle Mariners

On February 14, 2018, Lake signed a minor league deal with the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

. He was released on March 28, 2018.

Return to León

On April 7, 2018, Lake re-signed with the

of the Mexican Baseball League.

Toros de Tijuana

On July 10, 2018, Lake was traded to the

of the Mexican Baseball League. He played in 46 games for Tijuana in his first campaign, hitting .274/.383/.451 with 7 home runs, 37 RBI, and 6 stolen bases. In 2019, Lake made 114 appearances for Tijuana, slashing .306/.410/.528 with 21 home runs, 85 RBI, and 25 stolen bases. Lake did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the Mexican 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 ...

. Lake played in 64 games for the Toros in 2021, batting .293/.390/.485 with 10 home runs, 29 RBI, and 4 stolen bases. The following season, he appeared in 88 contests for the team, slashing .318/.377/.559 with 22 home runs, 79 RBI, and 10 stolen bases. Lake returned in 2023, appearing in 5 games before being placed on the injured list on April 27.

El Águila de Veracruz

On May 12, 2023, Lake, along with P Samuel Zazueta and P Tyler Madrigal, were traded to

El Águila de Veracruz El Águila de Veracruz (English: ''The Veracruz Eagle'') is a professional baseball team that plays in the Mexican League. Based in Veracruz, Mexico, they play their home games at the Estadio Universitario Beto Ávila. History Baseball was intro ...

of the Mexican League in exchange for P Luis Márquez. In 65 games for Veracruz, Lake hit .298/.414/.513 with 13 home runs, 43 RBI, and 8 stolen bases.

Toros de Tijuana (second stint)

On January 26, 2024, Lake signed with the

of the Mexican League.

International career

After the 2020 season, he played for the Dominican Republic in the

2021 Caribbean Series The 2021 Caribbean Series (Serie del Caribe) was the 63rd edition of the international competition featuring the champions of the Colombian Professional Baseball League, Dominican Professional Baseball League, Mexican Pacific League, Panamanian ...

. After each of the 2021 and 2022 seasons, Lake played for Estrellas Orientales of the Dominican Professional Baseball League.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lake, Junior 1990 births Living people Águilas Cibaeñas players Arizona League Cubs players Baltimore Orioles players Bravos de León players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Chicago Cubs players Daytona Cubs players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Canada Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Mexico Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Dominican Summer League Cubs players El Águila de Veracruz players Estrellas Orientales players Iowa Cubs players Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Mesa Solar Sox players Mexican League baseball center fielders Mexican League baseball right fielders Norfolk Tides players Baseball players from San Pedro de Macorís Peoria Chiefs players Tennessee Smokies players Toronto Blue Jays players Toros de Tijuana players