Justin Healy Shafer (born September 18, 1992) is an American

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 ...

who is a free agent. He has 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

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 ...

and

Miami 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 ...

High school and college

Shafer graduated from

Lake Wales High School Lake Wales High School is a high school located in Lake Wales, Florida, serving the city of Lake Wales and nearby communities such as Frostproof, Dundee, and Winter Haven, Florida . History Lake Wales served white students only until 1968, wh ...

in his home town of

Lake Wales, Florida Lake Wales is a city in Polk County, Florida. The population was 14,225 at the 2010 census. , the population estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau is 16,759. It is part of the Lakeland– Winter Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area. Lake Wales is ...

. Undrafted out of high school, he then attended the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

, where he was both a pitcher and a position player. In his

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. Ara ...

season, Shafer recorded a .284

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

and 27

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

(RBI), and a 4.50

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) in six relief pitching appearances. As a

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. In ...

, Shafer hit .300 with five

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 and 25 RBI, and posted a 1–1

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 ...

, 5.20 ERA, and 26

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 in 27

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other team ...

s. In his final season with the Gators, he hit .211 with one home run and 10 RBI, and went 1–0 on the mound with a 4.17 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 36 innings. In 2012 and 2013, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

in the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox.

Professional career

Toronto Blue Jays

Shafer was selected in the eighth round of the

2014 Major League Baseball draft The 2014 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft was held from June 5 through June 7, 2014, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first two rounds were conducted on June 5, followed by rounds three through ten on June ...

by the

. He was assigned to the Short Season-A

Vancouver Canadians The Vancouver Canadians are a Minor League Baseball team located in Vancouver, British Columbia. They are members of the Northwest League and are affiliated with the Toronto Blue Jays. The Canadians play their home games at Nat Bailey Stadium. ...

for the remainder of the 2014 season, and went 1–3 with a 5.16 ERA and 23 strikeouts in 22 innings pitched. Shafer was assigned to the Class-A

Lansing Lugnuts The Lansing Lugnuts are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. They are located in Lansing, Michigan, and play their home games at Jackson Field (Lansing), Jackson Field. The Midwe ...

to begin 2015, and was later promoted to the Advanced-A

Dunedin Blue Jays The Dunedin Blue Jays are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and are the Single-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays Major League Baseball club. They are located in Dunedin, Florida, and play their home games at TD Ballpark, ...

. Operating as a

swingman A swingman is an athlete capable of playing multiple positions in their sport. Basketball In basketball, the term “swingman” (a.k.a. “wing” or “guard-forward”) denotes a player who can play both the shooting guard (2) and small forwa ...

, Shafer posted an 8–9 record, 4.15 ERA, and 53 strikeouts in 95 innings. During the offseason, Shafer pitched for the

Salt River Rafters The Salt River Rafters are a baseball team that plays in the East Division of the Arizona Fall League. They play their home games at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick near Scottsdale, Arizona. The ballpark is also the spring training facility o ...

of the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season sports league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during the autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are fill ...

(AFL). He spent the entire 2016 season with Dunedin, going 4–6 with a 5.23 ERA and 62 strikeouts in a career-high 115 innings. Shafer returned to the AFL in the offseason, appearing in seven games for the

Mesa Solar Sox The Mesa Solar Sox are a baseball team that plays in the East Division of the Arizona Fall League. They play their home games in Mesa, Arizona, at Sloan Park, which is also the spring training facility of the Chicago Cubs. The team was established ...

. Shafer was converted to a full-time reliever to begin the 2017 campaign. After five scoreless appearances with Dunedin, he was promoted to the Double-A

New Hampshire Fisher Cats The New Hampshire Fisher Cats are a Minor League Baseball team based in Manchester, New Hampshire. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays major league club. During the team's first seas ...

. Shafer spent the majority of the year with New Hampshire, and earned a late-season promotion 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 ...

. In total, Shafer made 44 relief appearances in 2017 and went 5–2 with a 2.90 ERA and 65 strikeouts in 71 innings. On January 24, 2018, the Blue Jays invited Shafer to spring training. He split his time in 2018 between New Hampshire and Buffalo. On August 19, 2018, Shafer was called up by the Blue Jays and made his debut the same day in relief against 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 ...

, throwing a scoreless inning with a strikeout. He was outrighted off the roster on November 2, 2018, and assigned to Triple-A Buffalo to start the 2019 season. Shafer had his contract selected on May 28, 2019. He was optioned back to Buffalo on June 3. He ended the season with a record of 2–1 in 34 games. He struck out 39 in innings but also walked 25 batters. Shafer was designated for assignment on November 20, 2019.

Cincinnati Reds

On November 25, 2019, Shafer was traded to the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

in exchange for cash considerations. On July 24, 2020, Shafer was designated for assignment by the Reds organization.

Miami Marlins

On July 27, 2020, Shafer was claimed off waivers by the

. On September 9, 2020, Shafer was designated for assignment and released the same day by the Marlins. Shafer allowed no runs with 2 strikeouts in 1.0 inning pitched for the Marlins in 2020.

Kansas City Monarchs

On March 8, 2021, Shafer signed with the

Kansas City Monarchs The Kansas City Monarchs were the longest-running franchise in the history of baseball's Negro leagues. Operating in Kansas City, Missouri, and owned by J. L. Wilkinson, they were charter members of the Negro National League from 1920 to 193 ...

of the

American Association of Professional Baseball The American Association of Professional Baseball is an independent professional baseball league founded in 2005. It operates in the central United States and Canada, mostly in cities not served by Major League Baseball teams or their minor lea ...

. In 5 games for the Monarchs, Shafer recorded a 2–1 record and 5.59 ERA with 26 strikeouts in 19.1 innings pitched. On June 18, 2021, Shafer's contract was purchased by 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 ...

organization. However, Shafer did not play in a game for the Cubs organization and returned to the Monarchs on July 2. After the 2021 season Shafer would become a free agent.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shafer, Justin 1992 births American expatriate baseball players in Canada Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Dunedin Blue Jays players Florida Gators baseball players Kansas City Monarchs (American Association) players Lansing Lugnuts players Living people Major League Baseball pitchers Mesa Solar Sox players Miami Marlins players New Hampshire Fisher Cats players People from Lake Wales, Florida Baseball players from Polk County, Florida Salt River Rafters players Toronto Blue Jays players Vancouver Canadians players Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox players