Nicholas Paul Tropeano (born August 27, 1990) 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 ...

for the

Acereros de Monclova The Acereros de Monclova (English: Monclova Steelers) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Monclova, Coahuila, Mexico. Their home ballpark is Estadio de Béisbol Monclova, which has a capacity of 11,000 people. The Ace ...

of the

Mexican League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

. He 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

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

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 ...

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

, and

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

. Tropeano played college baseball for the Stony Brook Seawolves, and was drafted in the fifth round of the 2011 MLB draft by the Astros.

Amateur career

Tropeano attended

West Islip High School West Islip High School is a public high school in the town of West Islip, in Suffolk County, New York on the South Shore of Long Island. It is part of the West Islip Union Free School District. Curriculum The curriculum at West Islip High ...

West Islip, New York West Islip is a hamlet and CDP founded roughly in 1683, located in the Town of Islip in Suffolk County, New York, United States. Situated on the South Shore of Long Island, the population of the CDP was 27,048 at the time of the 2020 census. ...

, where he played

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

as a

and

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

as a

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

. He enrolled at

Stony Brook University Stony Brook University (SBU), officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is a public research university in Stony Brook, New York. Along with the University at Buffalo, it is one of the State University of New York system's ...

, where he played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

for the

Stony Brook Seawolves baseball The Stony Brook Seawolves baseball team represents Stony Brook University in NCAA Division I men's college baseball. Stony Brook currently competes in the CAA and plays its home games on Joe Nathan Field. Matt Senk has coached the team since the b ...

team in the

America East Conference The America East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I founded in 1979, whose members are located in the Northeastern United States. The conference has nine core members including eight public research u ...

. After his freshman season, Tropeano pitched for the Riverhead Tomcats in th
Hamptons Collegiate Baseball League
a

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 ...

league, and was named its

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

. In his sophomore season, Tropeano had an 8–4

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 matc ...

with a 2.44

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) and led the conference with 106

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 en route to being named the America East co-Pitcher of the Year and a finalist for Pitcher of the Year by the

College Baseball Hall of Fame The National College Baseball Hall of Fame is an institution operated by the College Baseball Foundation serving as the central point for the study of the history of college baseball in the United States. In partnership with the Southwest Collecti ...

. He pitched 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

Cotuit Kettleers The Cotuit Kettleers are a collegiate summer baseball team based in the village of Cotuit, Massachusetts, which is in the southwest corner of the town of Barnstable. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the lea ...

between his sophomore and junior seasons at Stony Brook. As a junior, Tropeano had a 12–1 win–loss record and a 1.84 ERA en route to a second conference Pitcher of the Year award (becoming the first pitcher to do so).

Professional career

Houston Astros

The

drafted Tropeano in the fifth round of the

2011 Major League Baseball draft The 2011 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2011, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Gerrit Cole out of the University of California, Los Angeles, with the first ...

. After signing with the Astros, he pitched that season with the

Tri-City ValleyCats The Tri-City ValleyCats (often shortened to Cats) are a professional independent baseball team based in Troy, New York. The Tri-City name refers to the three nearby cities of Albany, Schenectady, and Troy which make up New York State's Capital D ...

of the

Class A-Short Season Class A Short Season (officially Short-Season A) was a level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States from 1965 through 2020. In the hierarchy of minor league classifications, it was below Triple-A, Double-A, Class A-Advanced (cre ...

New York–Penn League The New York–Penn League (NYPL) was a Minor League Baseball league that operated in the northeastern United States from 1939 to 2020. Classified as a Class A Short Season league, its season started in June, after major-league teams signed th ...

. In 2012, he pitched for the

Lexington Legends The Lexington Legends are an American professional baseball team based in Lexington, Kentucky. They are a member of the South Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a "partner league" of Major League Baseball. The Legends ha ...

of the Class A

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

(SAL), where he was twice named the SAL pitcher of the week, and the

Lancaster JetHawks The Lancaster JetHawks were a baseball team located in Lancaster, California. They were named for the city's association with the aerospace industry and played their home games at The Hangar. From 1996 to 2020, they were members of Minor League ...

of the

Class A-Advanced High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...

California League The California League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in California. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major Leag ...

. Between the two, he was 12–7 with a 3.76 ERA. He began the 2013 season with the

Corpus Christi Hooks The Corpus Christi Hooks are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A affiliate of the Houston Astros. They are located in Corpus Christi, Texas, and are named for the city's association with fishing. The team is owned by ...

of the

Class AA Double-A (officially Class AA) is the second-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946, below only Triple-A. There are currently 30 teams classified at the Double-A level, one for each team in Major League ...

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

. On August 1, Tropeano struck out

Midland RockHounds The Midland RockHounds are a Minor League Baseball team based in Midland, Texas. The team, which plays in the Texas League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics major league club. The RockHounds play in Momentum Bank Ballpark, w ...

infielder Vinnie Catricala with one pitch. Nick Tropeano on June 5, 2014

Tropeano opened the 2014 season with the

Oklahoma City RedHawks Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New M ...

of the

Class AAA Triple-A (officially Class AAA) has been the highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946. Currently, two leagues operate at the Triple-A level, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL ...

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

(PCL). Tropeano pitched to a 2.09 ERA by mid-June, but missed a month after he experienced forearm soreness in late June. After pitching to a 9–5 record with a 3.03 ERA and 120 strikeouts in innings, the Astros promoted Tropeano to the major leagues on September 1. His ERA led the PCL. Tropeano made his MLB debut on September 10, recording the win.

Los Angeles Angels

On November 5, 2014, the Astros traded Tropeano and Carlos Perez to the

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

for

Hank Conger Hyun Choi "Hank" Conger (born January 29, 1988) is a Korean American professional baseball catcher and coach. He is the first base and catching coach for the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball (MLB). Conger was selected in the first roun ...

. Tropeano pitched in 8 games for the Angels, starting 7 of them, and had an ERA of 3.82 in 37 innings. In 2016, after a rash of injuries to their rotation, Tropeano got called up and in 10 starts went 3–2 and at the time had the best ERA of the rotation with a 3.25 ERA before being placed on the disabled list. Despite his success, he was activated and sent down to AAA after the Angels called up

Tim Lincecum Timothy Leroy Lincecum ( ; born June 15, 1984), nicknamed "The Freak", "The Franchise", "The Freaky Franchise" and "Big Time Timmy Jim", is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San ...

. In August 2016, it was revealed that Tropeano 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 ...

, ending his 2016 season and all of 2017 as well. After missing a full season, Tropeano entered the 2018 season competing for a spot in the rotation. He was sent down to AAA to begin the season but after injuries to the Angels rotation, he was called up and made 4 starts before going on the disabled list with elbow inflammation. He was shut down for the season on September 11 after feeling discomfort in his right shoulder. He ended the 2018 season with the Angels making 14 starts, with a record of 5–6 and an ERA of 4.74 and 64 strikeouts in 76 innings. Tropeano elected free agency following the 2019 season.

New York Yankees

Tropeano signed a minor league contract with 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 ...

for the 2020 season that included a non-roster invitation to

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 ...

. The Yankees promoted him to the major leagues on August 6. However, he never made an appearance for them and was designated for assignment on August 8, 2020.

Pittsburgh Pirates

On August 11, 2020, Tropeano was claimed off waivers by the

and sent to its alternate training site after

Joe Musgrove Joseph Anthony Musgrove (born December 4, 1992) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played within the Toronto Blue Jays, Houston Astros, and Pittsburgh Pirates organ ...

was placed on the injured list. In his Pirates debut on August 25, Tropeano threw four scoreless innings in relief. Tropeano earned his first win with the Pirates on August 30. Tropeano ended the year with a 1.15 ERA in 15.2 innings pitched, while striking out 19. He set career-highs in strikeout rate and walk rate.

New York Mets

On October 30, 2020, Tropeano was claimed off waivers by the

. On December 2, Tropeano was non-tendered by the Mets.

San Francisco Giants

On February 16, 2021, Tropeano signed a minor league contract worth $1.1 million with the

organization that included an invitation to spring training. On May 21, Tropeano was selected to the active roster and he made his Giants' debut the following day in relief against the Dodgers. Tropeano recorded a 1.50 ERA across 4 appearances for the Giants, but was designated for assignment on June 4.

New York Mets (second stint)

On June 11, 2021, Tropeano was claimed off waivers by the

and assigned to the Triple-A

Syracuse Mets The Syracuse Mets are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the New York Mets. They are located in Syracuse, New York, and play their home games at NBT Bank Stadium, which open ...

. After splitting time between Syracuse and New York, where he gave up 1 run in 2 innings pitched, Tropeano was designated for assignment on July 30. On August 2, Tropeano elected free agency

Los Angeles Dodgers

On August 6, 2021, Tropeano signed a minor league contract with the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

. He pitched in nine games (five starts) for the Triple-A

Oklahoma City Dodgers The Oklahoma City Dodgers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and play their home games at Chickasaw Bricktown Bal ...

and was 1–0 with a 4.91 ERA.

Texas Rangers

On January 26, 2022, Tropeano signed a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers. He opted out of his deal and became a free agent on June 1, 2022.

Acereros de Monclova

On April 9, 2023, Tropeano signed with the

of the

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tropeano, Nick Living people 1990 births People from West Islip, New York Baseball players from New York (state) Major League Baseball pitchers Houston Astros players Los Angeles Angels players Pittsburgh Pirates players San Francisco Giants players New York Mets players Stony Brook Seawolves baseball players Tri-City ValleyCats players Mesa Solar Sox players Lexington Legends players Lancaster JetHawks players Corpus Christi Hooks players Oklahoma City RedHawks players Salt Lake Bees players Cotuit Kettleers players Oklahoma City Dodgers players Syracuse Mets players Round Rock Express players